Sitting down with the impeccably dressed and ever-so-smiling Edgado Osorio was a bit like having a rendezvous with an old friend. What can I say, some bonds are forged over a deep love of shoes. Here we were surrounded by a sea of the most exquisite Aquazzura creations about to discuss the most pressing issues of the day.
FW: I know that it’s probably a rhetorical question, but are SHOES literally the first thing you look at on a woman?
EO: YES! I know, it’s bad. But it more out of curiosity than anything else. I love the way women style their shoes, so I always want to know what they’re wearing.
FW: Which CITY in WORLD has the BEST SHOE GAME?
EO: I’ll get in trouble if I say anything right now (laughs). I think in the US, New York is definitely the shoe capital. It’s a very international city and you have the biggest selection of all the brands. In LA, people are a lot more casual. In New York people tend to get more dressed up. So, I think if you want to see shoes and you want to see variety, it would be in New York. I always say, to buy Italian shoes, you have to go to the US. 
FW: Why?
EO: If you go to Italy, to see the amount of shoes you would find at a Saks, you would have to spend two days going around the city, visiting a number of boutiques. It’s a different way of shopping. There’s less variety and a smaller selection. People don’t shop in department stores in Europe. Apart from London, where we have Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Selfridges. In Europe, people culturally shop in boutiques. 
FW: That’s why I’m such a fan of FarFetch.com – a global mall at your fingertips, I find that they carry things that you wouldn’t necessarily find in department stores. They come from little boutiques from all over the world; where the buyers have a different eye from say a buyer for a department store.
EO: Well, of course. Obviously online shopping is different. And that’s the beauty of boutiques, they buy things completely differently. They get what a department store would never carry. It also depends on the taste of the buyer. In boutiques it’s usually the owner or a very chic woman. So it’s very much about personality but if you actually visit the shop, you may only find 3 styles of shoes. 
FW: I know that you travel quite a bit. You just got back from Mexico. Do any cities surprise you in the way that women style their shoes?
EO: I was in Bejing not too long ago and I was completely surprised by how women dressed – during the day. They would wear pumps with crystals in satin with jeans and a t-shirt to lunch. 
FW: Like your shoes from the Olivia Palermo collab?
EO: Yes. The same shoes that here, people would wear to a wedding. So I was very surprised by that or the way they use color. Everywhere you go is different. In some countries women are sportier, in others more sophisticated. I mean that’s why I love New York, I love Miami, I love Istabul. But if you want to see the BEST shoes – you go to FASHION WEEK. 
FW: Yes, but I feel everyone dresses to get their pictures taken. Sometimes they can’t even walk. Unless they’re in Aquazzura shoes because then they can be on your feet all day. Which brings me to my next question. I know that you did a collaboration with Olivia Palermo, who I adore. Can we look forward to any fun partnerships in the near future?
EO: I love collaborations. Especially as a male designer, I love working with women. I love their point-of-view and their opinions. I am constantly surrounded by women. 90% of my office is women. I was that guy that only had girlfriends. So that’s something that is always with me. But when working specifically with Olivia Palermo, who gets photographed every moment of her day. She knows exactly what angle cuts off her leg, which I also do but even more so as women- knowing what you need for what occasion. The way Olivia mixes things, she is very much about accessories. So it was interesting for me to build a collection with her. For me new things, different things come out of collaborations. Things I would have otherwise not thought about. We are launching a new collaboration this fall but I cannot say with whom, yet.
FW: We’re all dying to know. Can you give us a clue?
EO: I can say she’s European. (laughs) It’s going to be really fun…she’s English. 
FW: Yours are the shoes that a woman would want to own in every color. Because they are both beautiful and affordable. What is your secret?
EO: Our shoes are made in Italy and we really do use the best materials. Having worked for other luxury brands I would see that sometimes they would price things out of the reach of their target customer. They all want the beautiful young girl to wear their shoes but when they are pricing the shoes, it’s another kind of woman that can ultimately afford to buy them. I wanted for young girls to also be able to wear my shoes. 
FW: Everyone wants to know, what is your personal favorite shoe color for spring?
EO: My favorite color is always blue, no matter what the season. But this season I really, really, really love red. The bright red is beautiful and goes with everything.
Thank you Edgardo for sharing your tips on shoe shopping and getting us excited about your upcoming collab. For those of you who love red as much as the famous designer, these Aquazzura Memphis Suede Booties are everything.
Photography by the talented Mayra Roubach.
xoxo
Biana
