Franco Sarto's Italian job

Franco Sarto was speaking in Italian and we were communicating through a translator. But his message came across very clear.

Everything the Italian shoe designer does, everything he is, every collection he comes up with, are all born from passion, the same one that has been molding his life since he started working in a shoe factory, driving nails into a sole at the age of 14.

By the time he reached his 20s, Franco Sarto had already found his life fulfillment. Wielding his cobbler background as resumé, he left hometown Venice for Stra, the center of shoe design in Italy and started making shoes, eventually putting up an eponymous label that combined his cobbler roots with designing drive.

At 60 years of age, the same drive still runs in his veins. Shoemaking is his life’s work and life’s love. “I dedicate a lot of time into doing what I do now,” he says. Sitting in a couch at Mi Piace restaurant, Sarto is the ultimate projection of an Italian gentleman: white shirt, white pants, a sports jacket , all finished off by suede loafers. His gestures are effusive, his intonations lyrical, and his replies long and exacting as he talks about his new collection, a summery ode to exotic locales and experiences. “Grigio…blu…pelle scamosciata,” he recounts the elements that make up his cobbled coterie. Gray. Blue. Suede. A pretty calming, luxurious mix. He also has cork wedges in camel, stone-embellished flats and fabric-wrapped evening wear. Military green shades and Swarovski embellishments are also big this summer.

His new collection is pretty, for sure, but Franco Sarto did not fly from Venice all the way to Asia just to tell us that you have to take his shoes at face value. The designer, though he loves the design aspect (he is known for affixing his signature and giving out colored sketches of his shoes) takes pride in the technique and technology that go into his shoes. His shoes are meant to satisfy women on both aesthetic and comfort levels. He’s observed many women out in the streets, in indoor occasions, and in style haunts in the course of his long career to know what they want in their footwear. And he won’t try to negotiate these needs. Franco Sarto’s pairs are meant for all-day wear, be they three-inch wedge sandals or beaded flats. A special foam on the insole allows for the 24/7 characteristic of his shoes, as well as flexible soles and lightweight heels. Design is the icing topper, the coating that makes every pair extra special.

A trendy, extremely sexy pair that burns your heels and sucks the breath out of your nails: that is not a Franco Sarto signature. Sarto’s sexy comes with a practical streak, and his vision of style still takes into account classic but beautiful designs rather than flash-in-the-pan trends. His technique is really his signature. You may not fully understand this from the pretty drawings he gives away, but you will recognize it as soon as you start wearing a pair.

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Franco Sarto is located at Greenbelt 5.