" You gotta have ’em, you glad you got ’em, Like every color Giuseppe’s, your guilty pleasure is me"- Jay Z

I have come to a conclusion: there just isn’t enough information about designers on the Internet. As always, when searching Mr. Zanotti’s name, I come across only the fabulous celebrities who sport his luxurious heels. In this case, I don’t care about them, I care about the man behind it all, Giuseppe Zanotti. Let’s get down to this little known, “A list” designer.

The handsome Giuseppe is from a small village in Italy called San Mauro Pascoli. After first working as an apprentice for international shoe designers, he began his own shoe making career in 1985 as a freelancer for footwear and clothing companies. After 10 years, in 1995 he began his very own line, by purchasing Vinici ( a shoe factory) in 1996. Him and his wife worked to cultivate Vinici, which is centered around style, research, and creativity.

Maybe the reason why there is so little information on Giuseppe is because this self proclaimed shy guy designs for other “A list” labels that bask in the glory of his successful shoe designs. Fashion houses such as Roberto Cavalli, Vera Wang, DSquared and others, just to name a few.

However, another reason is because Zanotti insists on only producing his shoes in Italy and not cutting corners by going to China. He invests in the growth of the Italian shoe market because he believes there is talent to be noticed there. He even helped establish a footwear school called Cercal that teaches students all facets of the shoe trade. He then employs them, with the average age of his 340 employees in 2006 being 35.

Giuseppe’s dedication to the shoe world in Italy is reflected in his dedication to making high quality shoes. While designing shoes he keeps in mind a woman 18-60 years old who desires nice things and desires to look good for herself. Zanotti handles each detail of the shoe making process with delicacy and care. Each shoe is hand crafted with a file on hand explaining the details of the shoe making process and the materials used in order to assess a fair price ( one that might make you do a double take when checking the bottom of the shoe to verify that, that mark in the price is indeed a comma and not a decimal point ).

Contrary to what we might believe, Giuseppe is interested in things other than shoes. For instance watches, he owns just about 60 watches… 45 of which he claims are expensive and the other 15-20 that are horrible. He also showed an early passion for music, owning more than 6,000 albums! In an interview, he even compared making shoes to music, saying each piece of a shoe is like a note and when they come together they either make something beautiful or something horrible.

I’m am sure he was not referring to his shoes as that something horrible. Celebrities and models all over the world show silent appreciation about their Giuseppe shoes. These socialites wear his masterpieces in public, but he does not get the same publicity as his competitors like Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin ( maybe because Oprah hasn’t publicly shown her appreciation to him as she has done for the other two).

Regardless, Giuseppe’s shoes are a work of art. They are so detailed and intricate that simply wearing clothes takes away from their elegance. It’s no wonder his latest campaigns show women shirts and sequined skirts with lots of leg action, so that the focus is remains on the shoes. Hey, if I am wearing a $5,000 pair of Giuseppe’s with Swaroski crystals that where glued on one by one and hand stitched embroidery I will wear shorts and a tee shirt that says ” Look at my fabulous shoes that you will never be able to afford.”

Giuseppe’s success is no surprise to me because designers that take the time to tend to the details of their creations always reap the benefits of their relentless work ethic. How else would he distinguish himself? Well, another reason he can distinguish himself is because he has a live in muse, his wife Cinzia. After raving to the review journal that his wife has the most interesting closet , it comes as no surprise the appeal of Giuseppe’s seductive creations. She is gorgeous and stylish and with a member of Giuseppe’s target audience by his side at all times, he is able to get trustworthy and immediate feedback.

After reading about this star designer, I can’t understand why he doesn’t get a lot of attention. He has fabulous goals and has made a name for himself. He doesn’t just speak about charitable work, or lend his thousands or millions of dollars in the hopes of getting publicity, but he actually participates in events with charities like Meals on Wheels and his own “charitable cause” of helping students in Italy that are interested in footwear design.

Giuseppe Zanotti is not to be looked over. This owner and operator of 3 lines, Giuseppe Zanotti Designers, Vicini, and Tapeet, with receive the publicity he deserves one day. Honestly, who can resist his bejeweled sandal, he even said himself to vogue UK that the easiest, sexiest and most perfect shoes is a flat sandal with a bit of sparkle.

This under-the-radar fabulous designer of women’s footwear is a fabulous feature for my blog. He is exactly what I mean when the celebrities get all the attention and not the designers. So Giuseppe here is your opportunity to shine.

Wake up everyone and smell that Giuseppe’s.

Let’s Talk Vera Wang!

Since this week I will be focusing on CFDA ( Council of Fashion Designers of America) winners, both past and present, Vera Wang seems very appropriate. We all know this world renowned wedding dress designer, but do we know anything else about her ? Well let’s get down to business.

Vera was born as Wang Woiwei ( or Vera Ellen Wang) on June 27, 1949. Vera, of Chinese decent, was raised in the East side of Manhattan by an affluent family. Her mother, Florence Wu, is a United Nations translator. She exposed Vera to style and fashion early on in life. Cheng Ching, her father, started and owned a chemical company focused on oils and pharmaceuticals. He and her mother provided Vera and brother, Kenneth, a very comfortable childhood.

At the age of seven Wang’s parents gave her a pair of ice skates and it was love at first sight. What many of us don’t know about Vera is that she was a trained figure skater. She competed nationally in the U.S. National Championships. She placed fifth in 1968 and 1969 with partner James Stuart. She even appeared in Sport’s Illustrated ” Faces in the Crowd” issue.

Though she showed her talents in figure skating, she was unable to earn a space on the Olympic Team in 1968. She was given the opportunity to tour with an ice show, but she turned the opportunity down. She once told People magazine that the only thing she loved as much as skating were clothes and with that, design became her new focus in life.

The now womenswear designer went to the renowned Chapin School. She also studied at the University of Paris and studied at Sorbonne during her sophomore year in college. Her and her mother frequented fashion shows in Paris as well. Vera ultimately graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a degree in art history in 1971.

Upon graduation, Vera went to work at Vogue Magazine, the launching pad for many legendary fashion careers. After completing her first year, she was named the youngest fashion editor in Vogue’s history at the age of 23. While at Vogue, Vera would work until the wee hours of the morning looking over photos from shoots and selecting clothing for the magazine. She said she would do anything in order to work her way up in the ranks of Vogue. While she was assisting Polly Mellen, she would sweep floors in the Scavullo’s studio and run out for yogurt per request of the models. After 16 faithful years at Vogue, Vera Wang was turned down for the editor-in-chief position, which was in turn given to Anna Wintour.

Her unemployment period did not last long, she was quickly acquired by Ralph Lauren where she worked as a design director for two years.

The inspiration for her current expertise, wedding gowns, came as she was shopping for her own wedding dress. Frustrated with the limited options she encountered, she hired a dressmaker and designed her own wedding gown for her marriage to Arther Becker which would cost her $10,000. Before Vera, there was no fashion in wedding gowns. After finding this market in need of contemporary elegant gowns, in 1990 Vera opened her own bridal boutique. With funding from her father, she set up shop at the Carlyle Hotel in New York. At her boutique she not only carried her own line, but lines from other great bridal designers.

Returning to her roots,in 1994 Vera designed a simple white skating dress worn by Nancy Kerrigan in the Winter Olympics. She also designed costumes for Michelle Kwan. These designs gave her international attention that she did not have before.

Vera took her career to the next step in the late 90’s making evening wear. From that moment on she became a hit in the celebrity arena. Celebs from Vanessa Williams, to J. Lo to Whoopi Goldberg were sporting Wang’s originals. Today Vera has dabbled in fragrances, shoes, jewelry, and home fashion. She even opening the first high fashion suite in a hotel in Hawaii, amazing right ?! However, she never strays too far from her roots in athletics. She was commissioned to design the uniform of the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders. Their two piece ensemble was designed uniquely and specifically for those gorgeous ladies by Ms. Wang herself.

Vera’s achievements have not gone unrecognized. She has won the CFDA‘ womenswear designer of the year award in 2005 ( beating Marc Jacobs, mind you) and the Andre Leon Tally Lifetime Achievement Award. V era wrote a book about weddings in 2001 published by HarperCollins called Vera Wang on Weddings. She has made movie and tv appearances as herself throughout her years as well. The ink has recently dried on her contract to do Season 9 of Dancing with the Stars this year.

Vera has also taken advantage of an opportunity to design clothing and handbags for Khols, an affordable department store. This makes Vera Wang merchandise accessible to everyone.

Vera Wang, who is lives in NYC with her husband and two kids, has worked her way up in the fashion world with passion and desire for elegance. With help from family and connections she has grown into one of the most sought after designers to the stars and to any woman getting married. Vera’s father always inspired her to keep doing what she wants and what she loves and never to do nothing and she has taken his advice to new heights. Her multi million dollar empire is a household name and is sold in major department stores like Bergdorf and Saks and loved by many all over the world.

So Vera, here is to you, you are a genius in fit and style of clothing and you can make anyone feel sexy in one of your designs. Good Luck on DWTS ’09! Oh and Happy Birthday soon, 60 and Fabulous!