How Giuseppe Zanotti Became a Master of Crystal-Covered Shoes

 

Who is Giuseppe Zanotti?

Italian fashion and luxury footwear designer Giuseppe Zanotti was born in San Mauro Pascoli, Italy, on 17 April 1957, making Aries his zodiac sign. He’s probably known best for his jeweled heels, also known as crystal-covered shoes, although Giuseppe’s also popular today for his luxury leather ready-to-wear, handbags and jewelry. He’s now the sole owner of the company Vicini S. p. A., which distributes his brand to close to 80 countries around the world.

Education and early life

Giuseppe was raised in San Mauro Pascoli alongside his three sisters, by their parents who owned an ice cream shop; not many other details have been shared about Giuseppe’s family, because he respects their privacy. He was fascinated by one of his mother’s shoes when he was only seven years old, and has stated that he was impressed by the shape of the shoes’ toe.

He studied at a local high school in San Mauro Pascoli and already as a teenager knew that he wanted to become a women’s shoes designer; Giuseppe often travelled to the nearby city of Rimini, which was known for its high-end shoe-making tradition.

He was interested in a couple of other activities while attending high school, as he played soccer with his peers, appeared in school plays and took dance lessons; Giuseppe focused on fashion designing upon matriculating in 1975, and didn’t enroll at college.

Giuseppe’s career

Giuseppe spent over 10 years working as a freelance designer, designing clothes for successful fashion houses, and it was only in the first half of the ‘90s that he chose to start working on his own brand.

He founded his own unique style, which was putting oversized stones and crystals on footwear. Giuseppe bought the Vicini shoe factory in his hometown, and turned it into his own small company; his team of designers and stylists then moved there and created departments for producing ornamental jewels and heels.

He presented his first collection to a group of retailers and fashion designers in New York City in 1994, and some of the first luxury retailers to pick up Giuseppe’s collection were Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, all of which are still today collaborating with Giuseppe; he then also began working with retailers Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Bergdorf Goodman.

The year 2000 saw the opening of Giuseppe’s first boutique in Milan, Italy, followed by opening many others in France, England, Russia, the USA and China; he opened his 100th store in Shanghai, China in 2016. His first celebrity customer was American singer-songwriter and actress Madonna, and Giuseppe’s since worked with numerous other celebrities, who include Charlize Theron, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce. His company Vicini S. p. A. today numbers over 650 employees, who produce more than 600,000 pairs of shoes a year.

Although initially focused solely on footwear with oversized rocks, Giuseppe eventually expanded to designing and producing leather luxury sneakers, combining couture decorations with street style; his first collection was completed in 2010. He’s compared his sneakers to jeans, claiming that neither has rules and are both unisex fashion.

He also presented his first jewelry collection in 2010, and it comprised oversized rings, bracelets and necklaces, some of which made with highly expensive crystals.

Most viewed YouTube videos

Giuseppe has his own YouTube channel “Giuseppe Zanotti”, which was launched on 22 April 2009 and today numbers close to 6,000 subscribers, while all of his 232 videos combined have been watched close to 1.6 million times; nearly all are about his shoes, and we’re going to write about Giuseppe’s three most popular YouTube videos, which’ve contributed to his popularity on the internet.

His #1 video “Giuseppe Zanotti Icons— the VENERE” was uploaded on 10 December 2020 and has since been watched over 530,000 times; it features Giuseppe’s most popular shoes – the Venere.

His second most viewed video “Giuseppe Zanotti Design Sandals” has been watched over 50,000 times since 7 June 2013, and covers his black suede sandal which has cork-covered platform and heel, an ankle strap and maxi bow.

Giuseppe’s #3 video “Giuseppe Zanotti Fall Winter 18 AD Campaign” has been watched nearly 40,000 times since 30 May 2018, and is an advertising campaign for his Fall Winter 2018 collection.

Love life and relationships

Giuseppe avoids speaking about his love life in public, and it’s only known that he’s today married to a non-celebrity Italian woman Cinzia Casadei Zanotti.

Neither has disclosed the date of their wedding, but it’s believed that the two have been together for more than two decades now; they don’t have children, and some of Giuseppe’s fans believe that one of them might be infertile, but this hasn’t been confirmed.

There are also those who claim that Giuseppe’s gay, and that his marriage is a lie created for people to believe that he’s straight, but this hasn’t been confirmed either.

Giuseppe’s married to Cinzia Casadei Zanotti as of May 2023, and doesn’t have children.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Giuseppe’s company’s Instagram account is today followed by close to five million people; more than 4,000 pictures and videos have been uploaded onto the network, all of which feature Giuseppe’s designs, whether it’s his sneakers, purses or heels. His Twitter account was launched in January 2010 and today numbers over 100,000 followers, while more than 4,000 tweets have been posted onto it, with most of these being related to fashion.

Giuseppe’s travelled all around the world, mostly for work; although once passionate about travelling, he today prefers to stay at his home in San Mauro Pascoli.

He’s a philanthropist, and has donated large sums of money to charity organizations, most of which aim to help underprivileged Italian children.

His favorite actor’s the late Sean Connery, while some of Giuseppe’s favorite movies include “From Russia with Love”, “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”, and “The Rock”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Giuseppe’s age is 66. His eyes are brown and hair is gray, he’s 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighs around 150lbs (69kgs).

Giuseppe’s net worth’s been estimated at over $85 million, as of May 2023.