Sergio Rossi hires Paul Andrew as creative director

Sergio Rossi has announced the arrival of a renowned designer to head up its collections. The Italian luxury footwear label, owned by the Chinese Lanvin Group, formerly known as Fosun Group, has announced the appointment of Paul Andrew as creative director, effective July 23 2024. Paul Andrew is an expert in shoe design, has his own brand and has been working in the high-end world for over twenty years. He previously worked for a number of leading fashion houses.

After graduating from Berkshire College of Art and Design, the British designer started out at Alexander McQueen, before moving to New York in 1999 to join Narciso Rodriguez and, finally, launching his ownin 2013. Well known in the United States, where he has won several awards, the 45-year-old designer has worked on a series of collaborations, notably for Donna Karan, but also for Michael Kors, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, before moving to Salvatore Ferragamo in 2016.

After joining Ferragamo as head of the women’s footwear division, he was promoted a year later to the position of artistic director of all the women’s collections, including ready-to-wear. In 2019, he took over the entire creative direction of the Florentine fashion house, adding the men’s collections to his scope. He left this role in May 2021, at a time when the label was struggling to get back on its feet after Covid. The following year, in 2022, back in New York, he relaunched his own shoe brand.

“Paul Andrew is admired the world over for his innovative shoe design and technical mastery. He brings a deep respect for the heritage of our brand, an instinctive knowledge of our different audiences, and above all a vibrant creativity that will capture the imagination of the Sergio Rossi woman of today and tomorrow,” comments Helen Wright, who has been running the brand since the end of 2023.

Until now, the collections have been designed by the Sergio Rossi studio, led by an in-house design director. In January 2022, the brand entrusted its image to Greek influencer and Instagrammer Evangelie Smyrniotak. Her two-year contract as artistic director ended last January.

This appointment comes at a time when the label is looking for a new impetus, which it has yet to find since the departure in May 2023 of Riccardo Sciutto, the charismatic previous boss, who guided the historic Italian luxury shoe brand for seven years, relaunching it when it was acquired by Lanvin Group in 2021. Theended its 2023 financial year with sales down 4% at €59.5 million, while its gross margin improved from 50% to 51% thanks to an increase in direct sales.