Santoni

Andrea Santoni is an Italian shoe designer. He founded the Santoni company in 1975 starting with the production of high quality men's shoes, together with his wife Rosa.

Andrea Santoni was born in Corridonia (MC) on September 26th, 1938, by a traditional family, dedicated to agriculture. When he was 16, after interrupting school, he decided to learn how to cut the leathers in a small shoe factory: many sacrifices but with passion, a hard work and dedication he learns step after step the main aspects of this work. Thanks to private lessons Andrea Santoni improves his technical abilities.

1 Andrea Santoni becomes production manager in an important shoe factory. It is a hard job but with great satisfactions. Together with his wife Rosa they establish a small company, a sort of domestic atelier for the production of uppers.

In 1975, thanks to the increasing business, Santoni moves the company to a bigger place. The production increases but, according to the Santoni’s philosophy every single production phase must be done inside the company, so to obtain a very high quality final product and, as a consequence, the complete satisfaction of the client. At the beginning of the 80’s Andrea Santoni’s dream, that is to have his own brilliant activity, is becoming real.

After several researches in 1985 he starts an important expansion of the company towards foreign markets, in particular towards Usa. Handcraftsmanship of production, witnessed primarily by a great class product, is underlined by the constant involvement of Santoni family: after several years of sacrifices and investments in 1989 Santoni establishes the actual company built on 1500 square metres, where the entire production is concentrated.

The growing involvement inside the company of Giuseppe and Ilenia Santoni, Andrea’s son and daughter, represent a constant innovation for the atelier. In 1999 a new factory, dedicated to the production of moccasins and Santoni club shoes, is established. In 2005 a factory dedicated to the lady collection is established.

Nowadays Santoni is knownnot only for men’s footwear but also for ladies shoes, children shoes and leather accessories.

Giuseppe left for the Far East and made very important partnerships with Japan and China. Once he came back to Italy he strengthened a joint venture with a very prestigious American partner, which helped him to increase Santoni’s presence in the global market by 28%. Then he followed up a modern way of doing marketing using the support of some European agencies. Thus, he managed to lead Santoni’s brand up to the very first positions among the most prestigious fashion designers of North Europe.

As far as the company organization is concerned, he coordinates a group of young stylists, creating Santoni’s collections both for man and woman directly from the fashion department inside the firm. So he is personally involved in the style, following all the different phases of the development final creation of the new collection. He develops and leads all guidelines that make Santoni a brand.

Giuseppe managed to spread Santoni’s brand and image all over the world and promoted the opening of new shops and mono-brand stores in New York, Tokyo, Moscow, Kiev, Rome, Milan and Porto Cervo. Now Giuseppe is the president of the company and his father Andrea, a real self-made man with a long experience is the real shoe expert of the production and has the charge of controlling the quality and the hand-finishing of the shoes. Giuseppe’s interests are modern art and fashion design.