More than footwear, they are works of arts, small objects for dreaming, full of high spirits and sometimes a bit of mocking… a world on high heels with fantastical flowers, animals, feathers and jewels, pop citations, and abstract and surreal details… With the death of Andrea Pfister, one of the great interpreters of international footwear leaves us. His creations were worn on the feet of stars around the world, making also the history of footwear in Vigevano, the city where Andrea lived and worked alongside his partner/companion Jean-Pierre Duprè.

Theirs was an unusual combination of sentiment and professionalism: from one end, the creator with his irrepressible fantasy, from the other end, the pragmatic partner who translated these flights of fancy into a reality.

Born in Pesaro, in 1942, Pfister, after having frequented the Arsutoria design school, left Italy to go to Paris, where he first worked at Lanvin and then launched, together with Duprè, his first boutique in 1967. Pfister footwear production, however, occurred in Vigevano, which at that time was considered the capital of footwear and the designer’s adoptive city. His talent and creativity soon conquered international markets and his shoes were chosen by stars of the calibre of Liz Taylor, Ursula Andress who became his dear friend, and Julia Roberts… but also by women in the world of politics like Nancy Reagan, a collector of his shoes, and Hillary Clinton.
Andrea Pfister passed away on 24 January in his home in France, near Marseilles, where he had moved in recent years and where he remained after the death of his companion.

Some of his most beautiful footwear masterpieces are on show at the Vigevano Footwear Museum, which in 2004, had organised a personal tribute to the artist.