Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian

“A pair of shoes that fits like a glove” is how the saying goes. Such is the case with Carlo Fagiani, Panzano in Chianti, who has been producing shoes since 1984.

A great ability and artisanal genius, together with hand selected leathers, have allowed him to create, with antique knowledge, made to order shoes for hundreds and hundreds of clients from all over the world.

Carlo conserves all foot measurements in his archives because, as he tells WeChianti, “the shoes displayed in my store are not for sale, but prototypes of the various leathers and lasts, for men and women, that a client can choose according to his or her taste”.

“I will create the shoes by exact size. The data”, Fagiani continues, “stays in the archives, and over the years clients can order new pairs of shoes by mail, which I then send to their home”.

This is exactly what happens. If you are familiar with Carlo Fagiani and his shop in Panzano (halfway between piazza Campana and the hill to the Castello), you know that you can buy belts, handbags, wallets and accessories or clothing in precious leathers and in new printed materials.

But to buy shoes, you need to have your measurements taken. Carlos’ creativity reaches out to other fields. His passions are: the drums that he plays with his friends in a jazz group and a rock group, the poetry or short stories that he writes, and, above all, his designs and drawings. His mind is always functioning, looking for new things.

This has brought him to enlarge his handmade production, and in 2009 his line Verso X Verso was born, matching his shoes to a vast gamma of accessories and clothing in precious fabrics and unusual designs. Such is the collection,“Disegni a spasso”; t-shirts, tops, large scarves which he reproduces with a digital printer, and which are then executed by the best fabric printers of Tuscany.

Then there are his works of art and his designs. “My paintings or my writings”, says Carlo, “are of past moments, frames of mind, and impressions. Putting them on fabric to create a dress or a top makes them alive. The painting comes off the wall and walks into the world”.

If you pass by his store, you will be impressed by the double shop window filled with colors, shoes and accessories, but also with Carlo who is behind the counter cutting leather, working lasts with extreme detail. If you want to talk to him, speak about music or art. Afterwards, he will make you a pair of even more beautiful shoes.

Daniela Doddoli