Benvenuto, Santoni!

Shoe connoisseurs could not resist the charm of the luxury Italian footwear brand Santoni during the launch of its store at the East Wing of the Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

The prestigious shoe brand was born when the haut de gamme shoes laboratory was created by Andrea Santoni in 1975. Santoni’s Italian master artisan Francesco De Santis also flew all the way from Italy to demonstrate the art of shoemaking.

Italian Ambassador Massimo Roscigno came to grace the store’s ribbon-cutting and inauguration ceremony along with Santoni general manager Edith Dychiao and Lucerne managing directors Ivan Yao and Emerson Yao. 

Emerson said, “We are delighted to bring to Manila the first Santoni boutique at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall East Wing. It is a brand that we believe in — with its creativity, elegance and excellent craftsmanship, Santoni is indeed a name to reckon with in the field of luxury handcrafted footwear.”

Event host David Celdran introduced the guests to the brand’s philosophy and noted that men are equally guilty as women in having a fetish for designer shoes. The products of Santoni, he said, are for the “shoe freaks,” who want to fulfill their lust for shoes and indulge in the comfort, design and perfection of luxury artisan handcrafted footwear.

Guests witnessed a special fashion show where models wore shoes and accessories from the Santoni Spring/Summer 2014 Collection matched with clothes from designer Francis Libiran.

According to Asia area manager Andrea Casavecchia, Santoni follows a fatto a mano su misura (handmade to measure) tradition where it takes an average of four months to complete a pair of shoes. From a detailed foot measurement, the Santoni’s master artisan will create “trial shoes” for the client to try on. Based on the client’s feedback, the actual shoes will be perfected. The final product is impossible to imitate as it is made out of true human ingenuity and craftsmanship and not out of a depersonalized machine.

(Santoni collections are available in select boutiques and flagship stores worldwide. Clients who want to order customized shoes may contact store managers or visit santonishoes.com.)