Paul Andrew Makes His Exit Amid Changes at Salvatore Ferragamo 

Paul Andrew, the affable British-born Salvatore Ferragamo creative director, will leave the house, which is in the midst of restructuring, in May.

Born in Berkshire, Andrew worked for Alexander McQueen in London before moving to New York to work, successively, for Narciso Rodriguez, Calvin Klein, and Donna Karan. In 2012 he launched his own shoe line, which he described as being “elegant, chic, [and] joyful,” to Vogue in 2014, the year he won the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund. Many accolades followed, and in 2016 he joined Salvatore Ferragamo as the brand’s first women’s footwear design director. Within a year he was also in charge of womenswear, and in 2019 he was given control of all lines, including men’s.

Andrew delighted in the house archive during his tenure, collaging vintage scarf prints, for example, as well as reworking the house founder’s iconic shoe styles. There are parallels between the two designers’ interest in the form of the foot, and also in their love affairs with America. Andrew has spent decades in New York; Ferragamo worked with stars in Hollywood. “Salvatore moved to America in 1914, then studied anatomy in California so that he could create the most comfortable and the most fabulous shoes,” the designer explained in a 2017 interview with Vogue.

Andrew collaborated with director Luca Guadagnino on a moody Hitchcockian collection film, set in Florence, for spring 2021.

“I have been profoundly inspired by the intelligence and technical mastery of Salvatore Ferragamo, a man whose genius built the company that today bears his name,” the designer said in a statement. “It has been an honor to forward and give new life to his design legacy and ground-breaking innovation. I will always be grateful for this opportunity, proud of the work we have accomplished and encouraged to continue to create with integrity and conviction.”

As he prepares for new adventures, we take a look back at Andrew’s work for Ferragamo, as it appeared in Vogue.