CASADEI HISTORY FROM 1958 TO TODAY
Anticipating fashion. Inspiring it with the sketch of an upper, the shape of a toecap or a platform, the line and the proportions of a heel. Interpreting it in those few elements that define and distinguish the uniqueness of a shoe and skilfully creating models that are always special is no small thing. Even more so if, like Casadei, you’ve continued to do so with infinite passion for fifty years. Half a century in which one of the world’s best-known and best-loved footwear companies has produced a remarkable number and variety of striking ideas from its base of operations in San Mauro Pascoli. Creations that remain timeless, that continue to spark enthusiasm and which, given their dates, appear even more original, bold and directional. The milestones of an entrepreneurial venture that exemplifies the marrying of tradition, research, sophisticated craftsmanship and flair for innovation.
CASADEI HISTORY FROM 1958 TO TODAY
Anticipating fashion. Inspiring it with the sketch of an upper, the shape of a toecap or a platform, the line and the proportions of a heel. Interpreting it in those few elements that define and distinguish the uniqueness of a shoe and skilfully creating models that are always special is no small thing. Even more so if, like Casadei, you’ve continued to do so with infinite passion for fifty years. Half a century in which one of the world’s best-known and best-loved footwear companies has produced a remarkable number and variety of striking ideas from its base of operations in San Mauro Pascoli. Creations that remain timeless, that continue to spark enthusiasm and which, given their dates, appear even more original, bold and directional. The milestones of an entrepreneurial venture that exemplifies the marrying of tradition, research, sophisticated craftsmanship and flair for innovation.
HERITAGE
TRADITION: 1958-1994
Casadei was founded in 1958, in a small workshop in San Mauro Pascoli, where Quinto and Flora Casadei created the first collection of sandals designed for tourists holidaying on the Italian Riviera. It was the time of the economic boom and the “Made-in-Italy” miracle. In just ten years, the workshop was transformed into a small, highly specialized footwear business which exported its products to Germany and the USA, later in Japan. The Eighties, instead, saw consolidation of the brand on international markets including, first and foremost, the Middle East.
THE NEW GENERATION: 1994
1994 was the most difficult yet important year: it represented a passage of rite between one generation and the next when Cesare Casadei, Quinto and Flora’ son, joined the company as its creative director. Cesare’s strength was his all-round vision of the company, thanks to know-how acquired on-site which he experienced first-hand from production to marketing right up to creativity. Cesare was the link between two worlds: on the one the hand, the pioneers of “Made-in-Italy” craftsmanship and, on the other, the managers and designers whose task it was to promote the image of the brand on an international level
CESARE CASADEI
The life of Cesare Casadei and the story of the footwear company of which he is currently creative director are so closely intertwined that it is difficult to distinguish one from the other.
Cesare was born in 1962 to Quinto and Flora Casadei, two artisans who, in 1958, founded Calzaturificio Casadei, just outside Rimini. Here, they initially produced sandals for tourists, later branching out onto the national and international market. For Cesare, there are no boundaries: neither his house, nor his factory, nor the warehouse in which the skins are stored have any walls: everything flows seamlessly amidst prototypes, production, skilled artisans and expert hands, resulting in those small masterpieces that go by the name of shoes.
As an adolescent, he was schooled in Switzerland, where he received an international education. It was the Seventies, a time of revolution and innovation: travel, a quest for freedom and a desire to discover new horizons were the ideals that inspired him more than anything else.
His passion for his parents’ business resulted in his decision to return to his roots in order to work in their company where, in the mid-eighties, he started producing his own line with a team of 10 skilled workers. This was the hardest, most formative moment of his career: his work became a serious activity, his relationship with his suppliers became more complex and the production of his footwear began to increase at a steady pace. He started off with unisex styles, subsequently going on to manufacture casual footwear until finally reaching the height of his creativity with the production of phenomenal, spectacular pieces. Often a question of trial and error, his mistakes and his successes served as a learning curve which increasingly defined the aesthetics of the Casadei style, or rather the possibility or, better still, the need to experiment tirelessly with working techniques and materials that had never been used before.
In 1990, Casadei opened its first showroom in Milan and, in 1994, Cesare became creative director of the brand. This was possibly the most delicate and difficult transitional stage in his career: during those years, the fashion system was changing radically and the globalization of markets required a new modus operandi. His years of experience in production combined with his direct relationships with suppliers and retailers enabled Cesare to take the company to new heights, achieving a level of quality that other designers find hard to rival.
Today, Cesare works in close contact with a skilled team of designers, in the knowledge that he is able to count not only on the extraordinary craftsmanship of his co-workers but also on the cutting-edge production systems used for the manufacturing process, true gems of engineering creativity that only “Made-in-Italy” is able to guarantee. Each shoe style is produced in-house and the majority of raw materials used are created exclusively for the maison.
However, according to Cesare, the hallmark feature of his creative verve, is “that indescribable pleasure that I feel when I see a woman wearing one of our creations. At that moment, the magic of a shoe is truly capable of conveying the painstaking commitment and passion that I have always invested in this fantastic trade.”
GROWTH: 2000-2010
In the year two thousand, Casadei decided to consolidate his roots of high-class artisan tradition: skins, colours and styles were created on an exclusive basis using dedicated suppliers. The footwear industrialization process subsequently became a jewel of craftsmanship, a heritage that it was impossible to imitate. At the same time, he continued with the modernization of distribution and communication. In 2002, the Milanese showroom relocated to Via dell'Annunciata. Sales continued to increase, followed by the opening of a series of single-brand boutiques. During these years, international celebrities were photographed wearing Casadei creations on their feet, thus consolidating the brand in the eyes of the fashion system. At the same time, the best known talents of photography, including names of the calibre of Nick Knight, Mario Testino, Javier Vallhonrat and Raymond Meier, were chosen to shoot the company’s advertising campaigns. In 2008, Ellen von Unwerth, was commissioned to commemorate the brand’s 50-year-old history with a book and an exhibition that trace all the moments that made this miracle of style possible.
