centro cultural tina modotti Andrea Pfister (Italia)
Andrea Pfister was born in Pesaro, Italy in 1942.
As a child, he moved to Switzerland where he was educated. Later, he returned to Florence to study art and languages at the University. In 1961, he took a course in shoe design in Ars Sutoria Institute of Footwear Design in Milan and the following year he was awarded first prize in the International Designers Contest in Amsterdam for the shoe named “Comedie”.
In 1963, he moved to Paris established himself as a designer for the haute couture collections of Lanvin and Jean Patou. Two years later he presented the first collection under his own name and in 1967 he opened his own shop in Paris.
In 1968 he returned to Italy and opened a small factory to produce his own collections. In 1974 he moved into his new factory in Vigevano, where along with his own line, he produced shoes for Krizia. At that time he started designing accessories: bags, belts, scarves and jewelry. In 1976 Pfister opened his second shop in Paris.
His exquisitely designed shoes, embellished with sequins, multicolored pearls, and lavish embroidery and applique, attest to his individual creativity, craftsmanship and attention to details, which is essentially Italian. Pfister’s colourful shoes are stylish and amusing and have earned him a worldwide reputation of a master shoe designer. His innovative shoes have adorned the feet of some of the world’s most known celebrities, like Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.
When composing a new design Andrea Pfister starts with color and revises his prototypes in several stages, balancing shapes, proportion, originality and comfort. The end result is a shoe that is elegant and original. “Colours, materials and clear lines are very important to me,” he says.
Andrea Pfister died on January 24, 2018 at his home in France.
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Andrea Pfister (Pesaro, 1942 – Francia, 2018) è stato un designer italiano in attività da oltre quarant’anni, famoso per la sua creatività e capacità di realizzare scarpe da sogno
Guru della calzatura moderna, figlio di genitori svizzeri, ha vissuto tra Italia e Francia, dove, a Parigi, nel 1967 è avvenuto un “incontro di destino”, quello con Jean-Pierre Dupré. Colto, ironico e con grande spirito imprenditoriale. Con lui ha dato inizio a una partnership di vita e di lavoro. Insieme hanno aperto la loro prima boutique a Parigi, in rue Cambon. Insieme, nel ’68, hanno aperto la loro fabbrica a Vigevano, cuore dell’industria calzaturiera italiana.
Celebri le sue infradito in oro a 18 carati, tra le sue clienti Cher (solo tacchi a spillo), Liz Taylor (zoccoli peso piuma), Gena Rowlands (scarpe rasoterra), Ursula Andress (le sue celebri Thong), Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton ecc.
Nel 2011 a Milano la mostra a lui dedicata “Creazioni fantastiche”, con i suoi modelli più famosi.
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foto: Andrea Pfister, Moroccan printed Mary Jane heels
foto: Andrea Pfister, Moroccan printed Mary Jane heels