A classic out of ordinary
The story
This story starts in Vigevano, the city where I was born and where the first international footwear fair has been made. Since that moment, this city became a particularly important center of the high-quality shoe-making world.
This is the environment where my career started, back in 1979, at 14 years old.
I started moving in the entire footwear field, beginning with the technical and design department. Here, I started learning how to create and project a shoe through all the steps: from the pure creation of an idea, to the realization of all its components, in the right sequence until the product is born, and perfect.
Stefano Borella grown up into the world of shoes.
Bouncing through all the different tasks of the factory, the scent of cardboards, pencils, leathers and prestigious polishing creams and waxes became integral part of my professional experience.
But I was not just working inside the factory, in the meantime I was attending the most important international shoemaking school: ARSutoria.
This school in Milan is where the concepts of “How to do it” and “Why” became clear, while learning all the footwear theory and immediately matching it to all the practice inside the factory.
Moreover, I also had the opportunity to face the world of all the leather accessories such as bags, belts, wallets and much more. The accessories also, were part of my life for around 6 Years.
Working then with the great Andrea Pfister, has been one of the most important experiences of my professional growth.
He is considered as one of the most important and eclectic stylist of all time for the shoemaking art, and he put a strain on our skills everyday with incredibly innovative and whimsical creation that needed for days and days of study and tests.
But, finally, all these tests were always transformed in true unique pieces, true works of art that can be admired still today in the footwear museums all over the world.
During this experience with Andrea, I was able to develop my ability in visualizing and making real an abstract concept of an embryonic phase creation inside the mind of the artist, feeling how every idea can be transformed in a real product, passing through all the practical knowledge.
I strongly believe that a good idea, without the right technical knowledge, can only remain a good idea.
2003 is the year in which I decided to move to Lugano, Switzerland, where I work for around two years with Bally, a prestigious brand of Swiss footwear.
After this experience, in 2005 I launched my own Design and Technical counseling studio, where I worked with some of the most important brands all over the world, realizing entire collections for Manolo Blahnik, Christian Louboutin, Marni, Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Fratelli Rossetti, Rodolphe Menudier, Laurence Decade, Avril Gau, Bloch, Henry Beguelin, Vionnet. All these experiences, can do nothing but to enrich my professional background in this crazy fashion world.
But 2011 is the year in which, speaking with an old friend in the hall of our hotel during a trip in India, I decided to create a brand new luxury shoes line.
Immediately, when I went back home, I started making designs to realize what, up to that day, has always been the dream of my life: a luxury men’s shoes line that carries my name.
A new dawn, a new challenge in a life in which I am sure I still have so much to explore, to
learn. New destinations are what keep alive a human being, and his desire to continue creating.