Gianvito Rossi Opens First Luxury Footwear Store In The U.S.

Italian luxury footwear designer Gianvito Rossi just opened its first standalone U.S. store in New York's Upper East Side. 

"New York is the city where I spend most of my time in the States — I've been coming here since I was a kid," the designer told WWD.

"It's an important step for the brand. I'm happy that I can show the complete collection in its natural habitat now," Rossi added. 

Rossi's namesake brand currently has existing locations in Milan, Paris, Hong Kong and London. 

The brand's new 1,000-square-foot boutique is located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 75th Street. Other luxury brands Carolina Herrera, Nanette Lepore, Diptyque and Ahn Ann also have locations nearby. 

"Madison is really one of the most important and busy areas in New York," Rossi said of choosing the store's location. "It's the right first step."

Gianvito Rossi partnered with Milan-based architect Patricia Urquiola to design the space — which features oak floors, smoky mirrors, velvet and leather armchairs and perforated burnt metal panels. The walls are powder pink, the same color of Rossi's shoe interior soles.

"It's about modernity with a familiarity," Rossi told Viralz9 about the boutique design scheme. "Modern can sometimes be too hard or edgy or cold."

The designer didn't share sales projections for the store with Viralz9, but alluded to more upcoming brick-and-mortar growth in the U.S.

"We are going to eventually expand to maybe two other locations in the States, but not all over the place," Rossi said. "Right now, we're still very focused on the quality of the collection."