Paul Andrew ACE Awards - Getty - P 2016
Nicholas Hunt/Getty ImagesItalian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo has selected Paul Andrew as its design director of women’s footwear, who will make his debut with the Pre-Fall 2017/2018 collection.
“We have a proud history of nurturing design talent and we believe that Paul’s credo very much matches the spirit at our house,” Ferruccio Ferragamo, president of Salvatore Ferragamo, said Thursday in a statement.
It’s a match made in shoe heaven for the British designer, who cut his teeth at Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Narcisco Rodriguez and Alexander McQueen for a decade before launching his namesake womenswear collection in 2013.
A focus on craftsmanship, comfort and classic, elegant design garnered Andrew a strong celebrity following, from Jessica Chastain to Cate Blanchett, and a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2014. Earlier this year, he expanded into men’s footwear, and also took home the CFDA Fashion Awards Swarovski Award for Accessory Design.
“Salvatore Ferragamo has been an iconic reference for shoe design and craftsmanship for nearly a century. It is a great honor to be invited to lead the creative vision for the future of its women’s shoe division, where the legend began,” added Andrew, who also will continue to design his eponymous label.
Andrew’s red-carpet appeal is a natural fit for the luxury label, which has deep-seated history in Hollywood; after all, Salvatore Ferragamo got his start in the industry, debuting The Hollywood Boot Shop in Los Angeles in 1923, where he counted everyone from Rudolf Valentino to Mary Pickford as clients. Today, the brand continues to resonate in Tinseltown, worn by everyone from Angelina Jolie to John Legend and Blake Lively.
“I look forward to bringing a new perspective to the company in line with the demands of today’s marketplace, marrying the power of its heritage and industrial force with high design and the latest innovations in material and make,” said Andrew.
