Paul Andrew has been named the new creative director of Sergio Rossi. The footwear brand, part of Lanvin Group, said in a statement that the English-born designer officially began his new role on Tuesday. The appointment marks Andrew’s return to Italy three years after his tenure at Salvatore Ferragamo came to an end in 2021.
In a statement, Andrew said: “I am honoured and delighted to join Sergio Rossi, a world-renowned house of shoemaking whose roots and legacy speak to the lasting power of Italian savoir faire. And I look forward to building upon Sergio Rossi’s own unique spirit of innovation and high craft as we propose a bright new vision for the brand today.”
The Sergio Rossi brand, although quiet as of late, has a powerful heritage in innovation — as well as a fantastic archive for Andrew to riff on. The founder learnt his trade from his father, once saying: “I was born among leather.” He founded his own brand in 1968, and brought an inventive mindset both to design and to business through his collaborations with emerging ready-to-wear brands including Versace, Laura Biagiotti and Dolce & Gabbana. He sold his brand to Gucci Group (now Kering) in 1999, after which it changed hands again in 2015 before being acquired by Fosun Fashion Group (later renamed Lanvin Group) in 2021. Rossi died in 2020, aged 84.
Andrew moved to New York in his 20s to hone his craft, working for designers including Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez, before founding his eponymous line in 2013. The following year he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and in 2016 was tapped by the foundational Italian footwear brand Salvatore Ferragamo (later renamed Ferragamo) to design its women’s shoes. By the end of 2017 he was also asked to oversee women’s ready-to-wear, opposite menswear design director Guillaume Meilland; and in 2019, as house revenues rose to €1.38 billion, Andrew was installed as creative director. However, following a rocky first pandemic year for the business, he exited Salvatore Ferragamo in 2021. Shortly afterwards, he moved to revive his own brand, which he had shuttered in order to focus on the Florentine house.
Helen Wright, CEO of Sergio Rossi, said of Andrew in a statement: “He brings a deep respect for our brand heritage, an instinctive understanding of our diverse audiences, and above all a vibrant creativity that will capture the imagination of the Sergio Rossi woman of today and tomorrow.”
Footwear is a highly competitive but also an extremely lucrative luxury category. Andrew’s deep expertise in shoe design — as well as in the fashion business more broadly — should prove extremely beneficial to a house such as Sergio Rossi that is not chained to diluting its core métier through the distraction of ready-to-wear, and which in order to thrive requires a figurehead to embody and develop the founder’s ethos.
Alongside Sergio Rossi and Lanvin itself, Lanvin Group’s brands include Italian menswear house Caruso and Austria’s Wolford, the heritage lingerie and bodywear company. Lanvin Group director and chairman Zhen Huang said in a statement: “Sergio Rossi is a treasured member of our family, merging tradition with innovation. With the appointment of Paul Andrew, we are excited for the brand’s ongoing evolution and prosperity.”