Giuseppe Zanotti to develop footwear line for New York label Area

Giuseppe Zanotti has signed a new licensing deal. The Italian luxury footwear company, renowned for the Giuseppe Zanotti brand, will design, produce and distribute on the wholesale channel, in a “multi-season partnership,” the footwear line of New York label Area, beloved by celebrities and a finalist at the ANDAM Prize in 2021. The first collection will be unveiled on Sunday at the eagerly awaited runway show by Area NYC, at the forthcoming New York Fashion Week.

 
The show will adopt a ‘see now, buy now’ format, presenting Area’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection of ready-to-wear and footwear, immediately available for sale at the retail partners of the label founded in 2014 by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Panszczyk. Area’s ready-to-wear collection is inspired by cartoon characters of the 1920s and by surrealist and pop art, elements that will also feature in the shoes collection. The latter consists of 30 models, including pumps, ballerina flats and wedge sandals, all made in Italy.
 
The following collection, for Fall/Winter 2024-25, will be presented to buyers in mid-February at Giuseppe Zanotti’s Milanese showroom, and at the Tomorrow showrooms in Milan and Paris. Area, renowned for its glamorous style, has recently inked a distribution agreement with Tomorrow.

The licensing deal with Area, announced by both partners in a press release, will strengthen the position of Giuseppe Zanotti, one of whose shareholders is the LVMH-linked L Catterton investment fund. Besides its own eponymous label, Giuseppe Zanotti also manages the footwear line by French designer Alexandre Vauthier, via a licence deal signed in 2021.
 
Giuseppe Zanotti, which initially specialised in luxury women’s shoes, was founded in 1995 when the eponymous owner bought shoe manufacturer Vicini, based in San Mauro Pascoli, in an area of central Italy renowned for footwear production. The company used to produce shoes for various major labels alongside those of the Vicini brand, but gradually concentrated on the Giuseppe Zanotti collections.
 
Giuseppe Zanotti has extended its range to include also men’s and children’s shoes, as well as leather accessories, jewellery and ready-to-wear. The Giuseppe Zanotti footwear lines are distributed via some 70 multibrand retailers worldwide.