Crafting shoes never meant to be walked in
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, December 5, 2024


Crafting shoes never meant to be walked in
Sara Menegazzo, a goldleaf artisian, demonstrates her craft at the Art of Craftsmanship, a celebration of Venetian master craftspeople hosted by Tod’s in Venice, Italy, April 19, 2024. For the Venice Biennale, the Italian leather goods and fashion company assembled 11 Venetian craftsmen — glassblowers, mask makers and other artisans — to interpret their Gommino driving shoe. (Casey Kelbaugh/The New York Times)

by Jessica Roy



NEW YORK, NY.- This month at the Venice Biennale, milliner Giuliana Longo wore gold earrings in the shape of hats as she showed off a hat sculpture made of natural agave. Longo, who has worked as a milliner since 1969, said through a translator that she fell in love with hats because “if you wear a hat, you become a different person.”

Dotted with 500 “pebbles,” each hand-stitched to the fabric, the hat was in fact not just a hat but a tribute to a shoe: the Tod’s Gommino driving shoe, a hand-stitched loafer in leather or suede with rubber pebbles on the bottom and back that make it look a bit like a soft, chic cleat.

Tod’s, the Italian leather goods and fashion company, had assembled 11 Venetian craftspeople to interpret the Gommino using their own tools and artistry. The works, created by Venetian glassblowers, mask makers and other artisans, were exhibited at a cocktail party April 19. At an airy warehouse across the canal from the Italian Pavilion, craftspeople stood proudly by their work.

Sara Menegazzo, the daughter of the last family in Venice, Italy, to practice traditional goldbeating, showed sheets of gold leaf that her father, Marino Menegazzo, had beaten by hand. With Sara Menegazzo’s mother, Sabrina Berta, the family runs the last battiloro workshop in Venice. In partnership with Tod’s, they created a Gommino shoe and corresponding shoe box entirely covered in gold leaf, which Marino Menegazzo beat for two hours with a heavy hammer.

Roberto Beltrami, a young glassblower who operates a family business called Wave Murano Glass on the nearby island of Murano, created a Gommino shoe in the Tod’s signature orange. It was made entirely out of glass.

“I was always a pyro,” Beltrami said. “Setting things on fire is my calling. I set a couch on fire before I could walk.”

Beltrami’s contribution to the Tod’s exhibition, a Cinderella-esque glass Gommino, took several hours of hot sculpting to complete. “It’s very hard to control glass and make it do whatever you want to do,” he said. “The most difficult part was just getting the right proportions, the right shape and getting the feeling of the shoe. I’m still not 100% happy. I think if I make a few more, I could make it better.”

The Venetian project is a new chapter in the Art of Craftsmanship, a Tod’s initiative that seeks to highlight the importance of handmade artistry, both a brand pillar and a personal interest of its chair, Diego Della Valle. This is the second iteration of the project. The first, which was introduced last year at Milan Design Week, featured original photography by British fashion photographer Tim Walker celebrating the tools and materials used in Tod’s products.

Outside the Biennale event, guests gathered near a red neon coil created by artist Federica Marangoni to smoke cigarettes and huddle against the winds whipping off the canal. Actors Adrien Brody and Kelly Rutherford rubbed shoulders with designer Julia Roitfeld, Vice Media executive chair Shane Smith and at least one count. Waiters served Aperol spritzes, glasses of white wine and small plastic packages of crackers as a live pianist played gentle background music.

At the event, Della Valle held court with press and admirers, pausing to take photos. “The brand is very close to the culture and the artisan lifestyle, so it’s a perfect mix,” he said with the help of a translator.

“The artisans are people who are super-free because they depend only on their hands,” he added. “I’m a bit jealous.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.










Today's News

April 30, 2024

Gallery 19C Announces Sale of Painting by Johann Richard Seel to The Louvre Museum

On the Met roof, skywriting his way to freedom

Crafting shoes never meant to be walked in

How 1 reaction to a mural tore a New England town apart

The fashion influencers of the French Revolution

Magnum Photos and Granta partner for a unique collaboration across photography and literature

A close examination of the most infamous public toilet in America

'Ramiro Fernandez Saus, The Lightness of the Days' on view at Long & Ryle

First institutional solo exhibition of Nabil Kanso opens at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Art

EskewDumezRipple reveals design concept developed with help of AI for new Louisiana museum

Xavier Hufkens presents American painter Joan Semmel's inaugural exhibition with the gallery

Exhibition offers a chronological survey of the different stages in the artistic life of María Blanchard

Acquavella Galleries opens "Wayne Thiebaud: Summer Days"

They saw Dallas as a literary hub, then got to work making it one

Homelessness is especially hard on children. Making music helps.

Open now: 'Margaret Lee: Life Lines' at Jack Hanley Gallery

How trumpeter Jeremy Pelt became a chronicler of Black jazz history

Turning a dance spotlight on painter Juan de Pareja

Office politics gone awry in 'Jordans'

Pope's visit to art exhibition in prison is a first for Venice Biennale

The Tony nominations are tomorrow. Here's what to expect.

Love, war and the refugee crisis, set to the music of Sting

Jazz saved the bassist Luke Stewart. Now he's working to rescue others.

A student orchestra shouts 'Mambo!' and meets its idol

Health and Home: Ten Upgrades for Enhanced Mental and Physical Health

Play ATAS Online With The All New ATAS Web Login

Indoor Oasis: Creating Lush Spaces with Houseplants

How AI is Revolutionizing the Tech Industry in 2024

Raising Resilient Kids: Essential Tips for Modern Parents




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful