Indians were buying luxury well before anyone else: Edgardo Osorio 

Edgardo Osorio, the 39-year-old Creative Director and Founder of Italian footwear & lifestyle brand Aquazzura, is a self-confessed Indophile, having visited the country several times over the last decade. So, it was only natural for him to open a boutique in New Delhi’s upmarket The Chanakya mall. 

The Colombian-born, Miami-raised designer, who launched the label in 2011 with a mission to create beautiful yet comfortable shoes that allow women to dance the night away, has a presence in over 58 countries with clients ranging from European royalty to Hollywood and Bollywood stars. In a free-wheeling conversation with Business Today, Osorio spoke about his love for India, his journey, the growth of his brand and the future. Edited excerpts: 

How important is India as a market for you? 

I think it’s a market that has enormous potential. We have fabulous Indian clients since a very long time. And more and more, I see the region growing. 

People say India is an emerging market, but Indians were buying luxury well before anyone else. And so, it’s a market that I think, in a way, is having a different kind of comeback with a new clientele. So, there’s huge potential. 

We are probably the number one luxury shoe brand for weddings and parties and this is the country of weddings and parties. We are known for making the most comfortable heels and I think Indian women understand that and will enjoy discovering the brand. 

But why did you decide to come to India now, why not earlier? 

I think it is the right time to be in India, as the market is ready for us. But at the same time, it was a case of finding the right partner. [Aquazurra has partnered with DS Luxury for its India foray.] Also, now a lot of Indians are familiar with our brand as they have shopped for it globally. 

Could you please tell us a little more about the brand and its journey? 

Aquazzura means blue water in Italian. I was in Capri, on a terrace overlooking the sea and I said to myself that I wanted a name that reminds me of summer, of an Italian holiday. I wanted the brand to be about a modern dolce vita. I set it up when I was 25 years old and had attended 12 weddings one summer. I love to dance but I realised that most women complained that their shoes were killing them within half an hour of hitting the dance floor. And so I thought, there’s an opportunity to make beautiful, comfortable shoes. 

And then after that summer, I went to New York, to check out what’s available in all the department stores. And I remember being at Bergdorf, and there were all these designers that I knew, but they were all old. Like, at least 30 years older than me. And I thought there was an opportunity to be the shoe designer of my generation. 

Because, you know, maybe young girls don’t identify as much with somebody that’s 55 or 60, even though they’re very talented and their mother’s closets are full of those shoes. Maybe they want someone their age to design something for them. And so, I decided to take a leap of faith and create Aquazurra in 2011 with just $15,000 in my bank. I would get them handcrafted in Florence and then carry a suitcase full of shoes to New York where I would then showcase them to multi-brand boutiques. Social media was just starting out and that came to my aid. Two years later we set up our first boutique in Florence. Today we have boutiques in Florence, London, New York, Miami, Doha, Dublin, Milan, Sao Paulo, Capri, Madrid, Paris, Rome, Taipei, St. Tropez, Manama, Kuwait, Riyadh and now New Delhi. 

What inspires your designs? 

I’m lucky enough to travel seven to 10 months every year all over the world for pleasure and for business. I love to explore cultures. Every culture has so much beauty, especially, a culture as rich as India, where you have fashion, music, art, dance, everything. Culture and women inspire me. 

I have the pleasure and the privilege to meet unbelievable women all around the world, and to see what they wear, how they combine things, what they think. I love to listen, and you know, it’s funny if you just listen, so many interesting things come out of the conversation. 

So, everything sort of comes together in my mind. When I sit down to design a shoe it could be anything that may strike me. So many times, I have been in a restaurant and I have asked for a napkin on which I sketch while I wait for my food. 

Will your entire collection be available in India? 

We are focused more on accessories for now, but I would love to bring the homeware to India as well. For now, it will be shoes, bags, and jewellery. Next year we are launching eyewear and that will be available in India too. I’m also looking at launching a capsule for men’s shoes. 

Aquazurra stands out for its non-logos whether it’s shoes or bags. Was that a conscious decision? 

You don’t need a logo when there’s a design signature. I think elegance doesn’t require logos or branding. You know an Aquazura shoe, when you see it, you don’t need to see the logo. 

Will you be looking at an India-inspired collection? Will we see you manufacture here? 

I launched one a few years back but I would love to collaborate with an Indian designer and launch a range. My shoes are all handcrafted in Tuscany, an hour away from Florence but I get a lot of embroidery done in India and that will continue. 

What’s next for the brand?   

My dream was always to become a lifestyle brand. So, we are launching eyewear and a men’s capsule, as I said. But we are also entering the F&B space and launching our first Aquazurra bar in Rome that will open in spring.  We are also launching candles and room scents and doing other things within the interior category. So, there’s a lot of projects coming up.