It was 1973 and Lotto Sport Italia was founded in the footwear district of Montebelluna, in the province of Treviso. The debut in the sports footwear sector came with tennis shoes, soon followed by models for basketball, volleyball, athletics and football. Right from the start, the company’s name was linked to a symbol destined to leave its mark: the double lozenge. Two overlapping playing fields, one for tennis and one for football, united by the passion for sport and values such as respect and fair-play, which still define Lotto’s identity today.
Over the decades, Lotto has written some of the most memorable pages of world sport. Continuous innovation, pursuit of excellence, commitment and daily work are confirmed by the trust of great champions, who have chosen Lotto for the most important challenges of their careers. Among the first to tread the courts with the double lozenge on his feet is John Newcombe, tennis legend and eight-time Wimbledon winner, followed by Tonino Zugarelli, protagonist of Italy’s historic victory in the Davis Cup in 1976. Goalkeeper Dino Zoff wore Lotto in 1982, when Italy won its third world title. Then, José Luis Clerc led Argentina to its first Davis Cup final in 1981, while Thomas Muster signed an unforgettable season in 1995, lifting the cup at Roland Garros, and Martina Navratilova, an absolute legend of women’s tennis, remained in history with an unmatched palmarès. In 2002, the double lozenge is at the feet of Cafu, captain of world champion Brazil at the World Cups in Korea and Japan. Four years later, in 2006, Lotto is still the protagonist with Luca Toni, Simone Perrotta and Mauro Camoranesi, who wear Lotto Zhero Evolution shoes on the magical night in which Italy conquers its fourth world title at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. In 2010, Francesca Schiavone triumphed at Roland Garros, while Marion Bartoli and Gianluigi Quinzi won Wimbledon three years later, bringing the Lotto brand to the most prestigious stages of world tennis. In football, moreover, the brand signed historic moments alongside great clubs such as Juventus, Milan and Naples, and accompanied the newly formed Croatian national team to an unforgettable third place at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Today, Lotto continues its sporting tradition, dressing over 15 football clubs worldwide, including AC Monza in Italy, and supporting more than 200 professional footballers. In tennis, the double lozenge is a worldwide benchmark: Alejandro Tabilo and Martin Landaluce are just some of the more than 200 professional tennis players from more than 50 countries who represent the brand in international competitions, from junior categories up to the pro circuit.
From tennis triumphs to football exploits, Lotto has consolidated a strong, recognisable identity, capable of evolving while remaining true to its roots. Today it is articulated through a brand architecture capable of responding to different audiences. Lotto Performance is designed for the most demanding sportsmen and women, while Life’s is aimed at those looking for versatile clothing and footwear, ideal for both light sports and leisure. Lotto Works offers technical solutions for the working world. But it is with Lotto Leggenda that the deep and precious link between past and present is expressed in its most authentic form. This lifestyle line reinterprets the brand’s historical models in a contemporary key, transforming sports icons into stylish accessories. The silhouettes, materials and finishes tell a story of tradition and research, giving rise to collections in which every detail evokes an era of Lotto’s sporting heritage and projects it into everyday life. The line is divided into two main stylistic souls: on the one hand, the proposals inspired by the world of tennis with the Autograph and Losanga lines, which reinterpret in a vintage key the footwear of the 1970s which accompanied the great champions on the courts; on the other hand, the Tokyo models, inspired by retro running, which combine refined palettes, exclusive details and quality materials, for a sporty style with a contemporary taste.
2023, Lotto’s 50th anniversary year, represented a key moment to celebrate the brand’s long sporting and creative heritage. An important milestone, but above all an opportunity to reaffirm the values that have defined the brand’s identity since its inception. For the occasion, Lotto launched a series of special limited editions, true collectors’ items paying homage to its most iconic models. The Stadio Gold and the Stadio Icon, reinterpretations of the historic football boot created in the 1990s, brought back its classic design with exclusive finishes, while the Zhero Gravity Origins re-proposed the radical innovation patented by Lotto in 2006, the world’s first lace-less football boot, with a revisited aesthetic but faithful to its original revolutionary spirit. The world of Lotto Leggenda also paid homage to the brand’s history with Autograph 50 Years, a celebratory edition inspired by the model worn by John Newcombe in the 1970s, which combines heritage and lifestyle in a single, iconic silhouette, capable of evoking the glory of the past with the freshness of the present.
Over fifty years of challenges won, of innovations that have marked the history of sport, of style that has transcended the boundaries of the playing field. Lotto is, today as then, a brand capable of combining performance and aesthetics, tradition and innovation, sport and style. An Italian icon recognised throughout the world, which has been able to transform its history into an invaluable asset, capable of renewing and evolving, but always remaining ‘sportingly’ faithful to its identity.
