Rupert Sanderson
Encyclopedia
Rupert Sanderson was born in 1966 in Penang
, Malaysia (coincidently the same Malaysian island Jimmy Choo
is from). The son of a British Army officer, Rupert Sanderson lived the typically peripatetic life of an army child. After graduating from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University, he worked in advertising in London before enrolling on the shoe making course at the world recognised Cordwainers College in East London, joining a long lineage of stellar shoemakers such as Jimmy Choo
. During the summer holiday of the two-year course, he rode a motorbike to Italy to visit shoe factories, tanneries and last
makers, meeting artisans and learning as much as possible about the trade. Rupert Sanderson then worked in Italy firstly for Sergio Rossi
, and latterly Bruno Magli
. Working with the founders and the families of both these companies before they were bought by luxury goods conglomerates has put Sanderson in good stead with the close-knit Italian shoe making community.
Rupert Sanderson produced his first shoe collection in 2001. By way of reinforcing his design principles, in 2006 Rupert Sanderson bought a controlling interest in the shoe factory in the outskirts of Bologna, Italy, that he had been working with from his first collection. The art of traditional craftsmanship and attention to detail can be seen in every Rupert Sanderson shoe.
Rupert Sanderson’s design ethos is simply ‘less is more', focusing on perfecting the line, balance and symmetry of the shoe to flatter and lengthen the leg; rather than adding more and over-embellish, Sanderson likes to pair down the design and concentrates on the fit, length and shape of the last, and reportedly rendering even his five-inch heels relatively comfortable to wear.
Every pair of Rupert Sanderson is meticulously crafted by italian hands in his own factory Facit Srl in Tredozio near Ravenna, embodying traditional Italian craftsmanship with a distinctive avant-garde design. His inspiration comes from the material itself; from the sensual curve and silhouettes of the lasts and heels, to the quality and finish of the finest leather and fabrics.
Complementing his obsessive passion for the Italian craft of shoe making is a bit of quintessential British flair: every pair of Rupert Sanderson shoes is named after an English daffodil.
(who famously wore Sanderson’s KitKat shoe boots to the Premiere of Two Lovers in Paris with an Antonio Beradi lace dress); Samantha Cameron
; Kate Moss
; Lily Allen
; Sienna Miller
; Rebecca Hall
; Keira Knightley
; Cheryl Cole
; Cindy Crawford
and Claudia Schiffer
.
More recently, Hollywood starlets Carey Mulligan
, Freida Pinto
, Rachel McAdams
, super model Yasmin Le Bon
and fashion blogger BryanBoy
have all been spotted wearing his shoes, as well as Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress Sammi Cheng
.
and recently opened in Hong Kong
and Paris
– The stores in London include one in Mayfair
, and the other in Knightsbridge
; the Hong Kong store is situated at the heart of Central on On Lan Street; and in Paris at the famous Palais-Royal.
Rupert Sanderson shoes are also available in over 160 department and specialist stores in fashion capitals around the world.
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
, Malaysia (coincidently the same Malaysian island Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo
Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes....
is from). The son of a British Army officer, Rupert Sanderson lived the typically peripatetic life of an army child. After graduating from Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London University, he worked in advertising in London before enrolling on the shoe making course at the world recognised Cordwainers College in East London, joining a long lineage of stellar shoemakers such as Jimmy Choo
Jimmy Choo
Dato' Jimmy Choo, OBE, born Choo Yeang Keat, is a Malaysian fashion designer based in London, United Kingdom. He is best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd that became known for its handmade women's shoes....
. During the summer holiday of the two-year course, he rode a motorbike to Italy to visit shoe factories, tanneries and last
Last
A last is a form in the approximate shape of a human foot, used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs, and throughout their history have been made from many materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and, more recently, high density...
makers, meeting artisans and learning as much as possible about the trade. Rupert Sanderson then worked in Italy firstly for Sergio Rossi
Sergio Rossi
Sergio Rossi is an Italian fashion designer and distributor of women's shoes and handbags, as well as a limited range of men's shoes. The Sergio Rossi label is owned by the French conglomerate PPR.-Biography:...
, and latterly Bruno Magli
Bruno Magli
Bruno Magli is an Italian shoemaker, designing and handcrafting high-quality luxury shoes and accessories.-History:After learning the art from their grandfather, Magli and his siblings Marino and Maria started crafting women's shoes in a small basement in Bologna, Italy, in 1936. In 1947, the first...
. Working with the founders and the families of both these companies before they were bought by luxury goods conglomerates has put Sanderson in good stead with the close-knit Italian shoe making community.
Rupert Sanderson produced his first shoe collection in 2001. By way of reinforcing his design principles, in 2006 Rupert Sanderson bought a controlling interest in the shoe factory in the outskirts of Bologna, Italy, that he had been working with from his first collection. The art of traditional craftsmanship and attention to detail can be seen in every Rupert Sanderson shoe.
Rupert Sanderson’s design ethos is simply ‘less is more', focusing on perfecting the line, balance and symmetry of the shoe to flatter and lengthen the leg; rather than adding more and over-embellish, Sanderson likes to pair down the design and concentrates on the fit, length and shape of the last, and reportedly rendering even his five-inch heels relatively comfortable to wear.
Every pair of Rupert Sanderson is meticulously crafted by italian hands in his own factory Facit Srl in Tredozio near Ravenna, embodying traditional Italian craftsmanship with a distinctive avant-garde design. His inspiration comes from the material itself; from the sensual curve and silhouettes of the lasts and heels, to the quality and finish of the finest leather and fabrics.
Complementing his obsessive passion for the Italian craft of shoe making is a bit of quintessential British flair: every pair of Rupert Sanderson shoes is named after an English daffodil.
2008
- Established Fashion Fringe Shoes with Colin McDowell's Fashion Fringe organisation.
- Designed shoes for Peter Handke’s The Hour We Knew Nothing of Each Other at the National TheatreRoyal National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
. - WON British Fashions Council Accessory Designer of the Year
2010
- Designed shoes for The Royal Opera's AidaAidaAida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
for a cast of over 200. Directed by David McVicarDavid McVicarDavid McVicar is a Scottish opera and theatre director. He attended Netherlee Primary School and then Williamwood High School. He studied as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, graduating in 1989...
.
Collaborations
- 2008 – Louise Goldin (SS09)
- 2009 – Karl LagerfeldKarl LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
(AW09) - 2010 – Karl LagerfeldKarl LagerfeldKarl Lagerfeld is a German fashion designer, artist and photographer based in Paris. He has collaborated on a variety of fashion and art related projects, most notably as head designer and creative director for the fashion house Chanel...
(SS10 and AW10) - 2010 - The Royal Opera's AidaAidaAida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
- Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
Celebrities
Rupert Sanderson shoes have acquired an ever growing celebrity following including Gwyneth PaltrowGwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...
(who famously wore Sanderson’s KitKat shoe boots to the Premiere of Two Lovers in Paris with an Antonio Beradi lace dress); Samantha Cameron
Samantha Cameron
Samantha Gwendoline Cameron , often known simply as "Sam Cam", is a British business executive and wife of David Cameron, the current Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom....
; Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
; Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
; Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
; Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Maria Hall is an English actress.In 2003, Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for her debut stage performance in a production of Mrs. Warren's Profession...
; Keira Knightley
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
; Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Cole
Cheryl Ann Cole is an English pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter, dancer, actress and model. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality television show Popstars: The Rivals on ITV. The programme announced that Cole had won a place as a member of the girl group, Girls...
; Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford
Cynthia Ann "Cindy" Crawford is an American model. Known for her trademark mole just above her lip, Crawford has adorned hundreds of magazine covers throughout her career. She was named #3 on VH1's 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90s...
and Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer
Claudia Schiffer is a German model and occasional actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers...
.
More recently, Hollywood starlets Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
, Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto is an Indian actress and model best known for her portrayal of Latika in the 2008 Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture...
, Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
, super model Yasmin Le Bon
Yasmin Le Bon
Yasmin Le Bon is a British Iranian fashion model. She was born to an Iranian father and an English mother...
and fashion blogger BryanBoy
Bryanboy
Bryanboy is the pen name of Bryan Grey Yambao, a Filipino fashion blogger. A former web developer, he started blogging at age 17 from his parents' Manila home. His eponymous blog, which attracts 5,000 visitors per day, won the 2007 Philippine Blog Award for Best Fashion & Lifestyle Blog...
have all been spotted wearing his shoes, as well as Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng
Sammi Cheng Sau-Man is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. Having enjoyed much success in the Hong Kong music industry, Sammi has been known as a diva and has been one of the most successful female singer in Hong Kong since the 1990s. Her albums have sold more than 25 million copies through...
.
Stores
Rupert Sanderson has two stores in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and recently opened in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
– The stores in London include one in Mayfair
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, and the other in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
; the Hong Kong store is situated at the heart of Central on On Lan Street; and in Paris at the famous Palais-Royal.
Rupert Sanderson shoes are also available in over 160 department and specialist stores in fashion capitals around the world.