Andrea Gatti was born in the early ‘70s in Vigevano (Lombardy), a city famous for its shoemaking tradition and located on the outskirts of Milan in Northern Italy. From a very early age, he observes his parents hand-painting shoes’ soles, spending most of his childhood surrounded by brushes, nails and the sound of sewing machines for shoe uppers.
Creativity and craftsmanship were already running through his family’s DNA, with his paternal grandfather being a professional painter and restorer and his maternal one working as an artisan. Today Gatti creates and manufactures high-end footwear using the most exclusive techniques, such as the “Art of the Patina”, from the French “patine”, meaning the art of blending, colouring and polishing the shoes entirely by hand, following an intensive set of procedures. Gatti’s creations are developed using exclusively calf crust leather in a neutral white (free from any previous colouring or dye) onto which he goes on to create this stylish and unique effect.
ManufactureLABORATORY
For over 60 years, Vigens has been producing high quality handmade shoes destined to both the national and international market. During these many years of activity they have acquired and developed several skills, among which: the ability of understanding designers’ ideas while translating them from the sketch into actual footwear, as well as the constant search for new technical solutions and original materials. The company sees the creative process behind each footwear collection as a challenge,fuelled by the satisfaction that comes from having created a unique piece of footwear.
