In April’s Abundant Legacy, Founder and Creative Director of René Caovilla, René Fernando Caovilla, shares the joys and challenges of continuing a legacy brand.
What do the first 30 minutes of your day look like, your morning routine?
I always get up early in the morning, at 7. I do physical activity, have breakfast, and then read the newspapers. I exer- cise for 30 minutes, four days a week. My routine starts with half an hour of walking outdoors or on the treadmill, followed by some aerobics. Even my breakfast doesn’t change: coffee, toast with honey from my estate in Tuscany, yogurt and fresh fruit with some dried almonds. I go to work by car at my headquarters in Fiesso d’artico, arriving around 8.30. Every day the first thing I do is go through all the outstanding questions with my assistant and my creative team.
The brand debuted the Cleo sandals more than 50 years ago. Was it as predicted it would be such an iconic footwear?
More than 50 years have passed since its debut. It was 1973, after a visit to the Archaeological Museum of Naples, seeing a gold bracelet from the 1st century BC. The idea of creating these sandals came to me in the shape of a snake. Since then, it has been exhibited at the MoMA in New York. In all these years it has been renewed but its essence has remained unchanged. So, it became iconic.
What are your main passions in life and does that influence your creative process?
The company was born from dreams, and I live to create dreams. My shoes bring me joy, yes, just like that. How can you not rejoice in the face of beauty? Well, I feel the same emotions about my shoes as I do about a work of art. The secret is passion. I never get tired of researching, ideas come to me on their own. Even before, I observed the detail of an ancient door and the inspiration for a new model came to me. And it was precisely in this way that the sandals were born, inspired by the details of Murano chandeliers, the mosaics of the Basilica of San Marco, the lace of ancient Venetian fans, the lace of Burano, portraits of ladies or, again, the Gothic three-light windows of the palaces from Venice.
What do women look for in shoes today and how has that changed over the years?
Women have the pleasure of changing. History repeats itself, every 20-30 years. The heel grows, gets shorter, then rises again. We just make high heels and low heels, but we make them precious.
How do you achieve a deft balance between staying relevant and true to the brand’s DNA?
From the first Rita model to the iconic Cleo sandal, the history of the maison is solidly based on three fundamental values: passion, creativity, excellence. Traditional know-how therefore represents the soul of the company, made up of true artisans, lovers of shoes and women. But artisanal know-how needs to constantly be nourished by new blood and only thanks to constant research and the integration of new technologies can manual art evolve and keep up with the times. From the complementary union between innovation and centuries-old tradition, footwear is born that combines beauty, quality, and the avant-garde. The real strength lies in the young people: on one hand, the kids who have taken their parents’ place in the factory, on the other, the very young people who can afford these shoes. The first are between 35 and 45 years old and are all specialised professionals: from those who follow the style office to the artisans who fix the decorations one by one, it is thanks to them that the generational change was successfully accomplished. On the other hand, the average age of Caovilla’s customers is between 20 and 30 years old, once upon a time it was mothers who wore my shoes, now it’s daughters.
What are your favourites from the SS24 collection, and which styles sell out season after season in the Middle East?
My favourite model for the season is the new Floriane, which shows all its precious regal charm: transparent lace expertly embroidered with decorations and crystals cover the toe of these tapered shoes. Richness, which tells the story of the company’s heritage: lace, flowers, crystals, embroidery. The Floriane décolleté encompasses the entire René Caovilla universe and enhances it in a triumph of craftsmanship and refinement. The model that is always successful in the Middle East is undoubtedly our Chandelier, an expression of the highest glamorous sophistication, the sandal characterised by a series of hand-stitched teardrop crystals that recall Venetian chandeliers.
“…it is the cornerstones of style that become even more special because we tend to purchase pieces that have already passed the test of time unscathed, dedicating themselves to iconicity”
René Caovilla’s footwear styles are truly unique. How does it feel to be at the forefront of shoe design?
I can consider myself sincerely satisfied. On the other hand, in times of change like the ones we are experiencing, in which we are witnessing a progressive crumbling of points of reference, we instinctively navigate in search of safe havens, in fashion as in every other field. And so, it is the cornerstones of style that become even more special because we tend to purchase pieces that have already passed the test of time unscathed, dedicating themselves to iconicity.
Your father has definitely made his mark on the world of footwear. Through his philosophy, how has he shaped your point of view on design?
Dedication certainly, he made me work under one condition: work for ten hours a day, but you have to arrive early and leave later than anybody else. And there are no Saturdays and Sundays. He tried to fix three principles in my head: passion, spirit of sacrifice, consistency. After the evening schools for the drawing and modeling courses at the Royal Palace of Stra, he sent me to Paris to learn how to draw well, because France was the fashion capital, and to London to learn English, because it was the language of the world of business.
What are the defining moments and milestones for you in your career?
When I began my relationship with luxury brands, the first one I met was Valentino Garavani. I was the one looking for him. I wrote to him: you make dream clothes; I think I have some shoes that could fit them. A relationship was born that lasted 30 years, so much so that Valentino himself chose me as a designer for the accessories of his haute couture line, giving life to cult objects and fetish creations sealed with the Valentino emblem by René Caovilla. Formidable years, marked by an inexhaustible creative energy, by overwhelming friendships, and by the desire to experiment. Subsequently, the collaboration, which lasted several years, also began with another legendary maison, that of Christian Dior, with John Galliano, with whom dreamlike, imaginative creations were created for the Paris catwalk. It was then Chanel’s turn and contact with the stylistic genius of Karl Lagerfeld.
The year 2004 marked the inauguration of the first Rene Caovilla flagship store in Milan, which was followed in subsequent years by Paris, Venice, London, Dubai, and Macao. But whether I was in London, Paris, New York, or Tokyo, I always knew who I was, the heir to the historical tradition of great Venetian craftsmanship. There has always been Venice with its wonders in my eyes, in my heart, in my hands.
“Abundance is creating completely handmade couture shoes for decades with unparalleled excellence”
This is The Abundance Issue – what does it mean to you and how do you cultivate that mindset?
Abundance is creating completely handmade couture shoes for decades with unparalleled excellence. Every single shoe is handmade by our artisans in our factory. Whether they are 12 heel pumps or floor-level ballerinas, padded ankle boots or jewelled sandals doesn’t matter. It is enough to recognise that shoes are not an accessory, but an object with a strong social value that transcends itself, becoming a fetish, symbol, declaration of intent, and, increasingly often, an object of worship.
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