Area, the American luxury brand founded by Beckett Fogg and Piotrek Pansczczyk, whose extra-crystalline glamor has been embraced by Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa and former First Lady Michelle Obama among many others, is partnering with Italian shoe brand Sergio. Rossi in a collection.
The 20-style range will be introduced and sold in February 2023, but is being teased at Monday’s Area Fall 2022 fashion show at Frick Madison, with four pairs of sandals.including a pair of black satin stilettos with crystal heels, and crystal extensions resembling unicorn horns on the toes.
“I strongly believe in this partnership that explores the many facets of femininity, finding beauty in all its forms and expressions,” said Riccardo Sciutto, CEO of the Sergio Rossi Group. “With this collaboration, Sergio Rossi continues to build a long line of collaborations, but in this case with one of the most influential brands in the fashion industry. We have the best partner to reshape the rules of femininity together.”
“This collaboration embodies the synergy of heritage and expertise infused with modernity and innovation,” added Piotrek Panszczyk, co-founder and creative director of Zona.
In recent years, Sergio Rossi has also collaborated with American designers Rosie Assoulin and Adam Lippes, as well as Milan-based shoe brand Manebi. Fosun Fashion Group, the parent company of Lanvin, St. John and Wolford, bought the well-known shoe brand in 2021.
Founded in 2014, Area has gained a following for its decadent, ’80s-resonant, extra-glam on-stage clothing, corsetry, denim and accessories. “We like to play with this idea of free and chic, what works and what doesn’t.” It also reminds us of returning home. For example, when my mother lived in communist Poland, they didn’t have access to it, but it was all so sophisticated. Russian women were the same. They were doing it themselves,” Panszczyk told WWD in a 2019 interview.
“We have all these aspiring ‘It’ girls who also buy it. I don’t know, it’s like a good range of people who all aspire to be something that maybe they’re not.”
