They carefully caress the shoes by Chiara Cesaraccio’s, as if they are savouring the beauty of a precious jewellery piece.
The young and dynamic brand founded by the Florence-based designer is characterised by the strong bond with the Italian handcrafted tradition and by the quality of a high fashion product designed and created entirely in the area of Figline Valdarno (Florence).

Inimitable and precious materials are linked to the goldsmith tradition: a precious symbiosis that characterises the heart and soul of the brand. A combination which leads to the creation of unique pieces, such as the Atlantis collection inspired by the myth of Atlantis, which represents the constant search for many “small” worlds that have disappeared, have been forgotten or have not been valued: for example, terciopelo velvet, precious 3-ply velvet woven with a flowery motif, made using a rare hand loom that still exists in Italy and capable of weaving this fabric.

The shape of the gold filigree buttons resembles the breasts of the mother goddess Tanit, an emblem of femininity. The ‘su kokku’ amulets in 925 silver filigree or gold are the fruit of a centuries-old tradition that encloses a heart black obsidian or pink quartz. These are all cultural legacies of the island of Sardinia, considered by some as the ancient and lost Atlantis.

To this world are added equally precious materials, such as real python with golden scales, 100% Made in Italy suede and heels covered with 24-carat gold leaf.

Why shoes?
“Capucci, a well-known designer used to say: “Make beauty your constant ideal”. Beauty understood as the harmony of shapes, as symmetry and proportion between the various parts of an object, and between the different aspects and elements of the same reality. Beauty is the cause and the purpose, the alpha and omega, and I find all these elements in shoes.”

How was your passion born?
“My father and my family have always had a passion for art and the world of museums. I grew up immersed in the art world. When I saw a call for applications at the IED, I entered and won the scholarship then decided to move from Verona to Florence.”

Then what happened?
“I started to work, while I was still studying, at an excellent Tuscan company that specialised in the production of cork lace, founded by Lionello Villani. He put me in touch with a company in Houston, Texas, for which I made bags in leather and cork. This led to my collaboration with another Italian-Swiss company, which continues to this day because they sponsor my shoe collection. In March of 2016, we exhibited my first shoe collection in Covent Garden, London. Over the years, I collaborated with Gianni Chiarini, the Valmoro company and with a design firm in Milan that works for several brands, including Borbonese, Carpisa and Pininfarina.”

What is the source of your creativity?
“The experiences I collect and my identity, consisting of different worlds: in particular Sardinia, a land that is very dear to me because it is where I have my origins. Here I learned about, and fell in love with, the tradition of a people, which is nothing more than the story of those people told through clothes, fabrics and jewellery. A land of colours, scents and stories that act as a true source of inspiration.”

What is the most difficult part of your job?
“The most difficult part is also the most fascinating: the search for and contact with suppliers. Every person I work with is precious, because they enrich my knowledge and my personal experience. I had the opportunity to meet goldsmiths who combine skill and tradition; I have visited tanneries where I was able to touch the excellence that our country can produce; I have exchanged ideas with last manufacturers, where the anatomy of the foot is studied as much as it is in medicine, while also being admired as a sculpture.”

Your greatest satisfaction?
“The most exciting moment is certainly when you see and touch for the first time the product you designed. It’s a feeling of indescribable happiness, because you see your drawings take a concrete form, your imagination come to life, and your dreams come true.”

The future?
“We are looking for a partnership in Arabia and we also have contacts in Japan and North America.”