Velasca had long been a case history , as the Americans say, a model story. In the crowded world of fashion and footwear in particular, the founders – Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio – initially gave the impression of wanting to swim (courageously) against the tide: in the years when sneakers seemed to be the priority, they started with more formal men’s models. While the price competitions were unleashed, thanks to the online platforms, they focused on craftsmanship and quality, reaching an excellent quality-price ratio, but without compromising. They started, in 2013, mainly for cost reasons and to have the light structure that startups need, from e-commerce, but quickly they decided to plunge into reality, opening a shop in the city where it all started, Milan (the name of the brand comes from the homonymous tower, one of the most iconic buildings in Milan).
Burn the stages
The evolution continued and the sneakers arrived, but now the step is even more important: a women’s collection and a dedicated boutique in an area of Milan far from the fashion district, but where certainly live many people accustomed to high-end purchases, a project anticipated in June at Sole 24 Ore . The shop is located in Piazza Giovine Italia, not far from Santa Maria delle Grazie, the church it houses Last dinner di Leonardo, a stone’s throw from Piazza Conciliazione and very close to Piazza Tommaseo, also famous, for decades, as a shopping destination for most refined and perhaps the most famous multi-brand in the city, Pupi Solari.
Innovative and winning formula
Since 2013 Jacopo Sebastio and Enrico Casati have managed to attract many investors and have sold several hundreds of thousands of shoes: in 2019 the turnover had reached 10 million euros and despite the pandemic Velasca has margin – and courage, once again – to invest. The formula is simple, but also innovative: from the beginning Velasca has proposed itself not as a producer, but as “Intermediary” between customers looking for beautiful handmade shoes and the master craftsmen who make them, strictly in Italy. The products are shoes of the highest quality and with fair prices. The first physical store arrived in 2015 and today the network of “shops” is at 12: the last piece is that of New York, in Elizabeth Street, one of the best known streets, especially by those who live in Manhattan, in the neighborhood by Nolita.
The women’s collection
It starts with 70 new references – moccasins, lace-ups and boots – which are characterized by a decidedly Italian elegance, but with a sporty soul, a contemporary woman in the best sense of the term (in the photo above, a model of boots and below, a detail). The shoes are, as for the men’s part, made by artisans, in particular from Montegranaro, with excellent materials. No heels, jokes and jokes, for now, one would say, because with Velasca, never say never … “For this new collection we were inspired by the style that has always characterized our products, but there are also models created ex new for this new target. All enclosed in a single common denominator: a tribute to the Italian lifestyle – explain Enrico Casati and Jacopo Sebastio -. We are not simply a brand of high quality Italian handmade shoes, we are an expression of the Italian spirit and of the Italian lifestyle that distinguishes us in the world for the attention to excellence and strong authenticity. Faithful to this vision, in the future we will enrich the collection with other products and accessories that complete the woman look. Proposals that will accompany, without ever dominating a female world that wants to become a style icon, without losing its own personality “.
The key word: attention
Maybe Casati and Sebastio don’t know it (or maybe they do), but a book has just come out in the United States, The value compass (The compass of values), written by Mandeep Rai, who will be in Rome next Friday, October 15, to participate in the V20 (Values 20 Group, a group of G20 experts in the field of values). For each country the author has identified a value and for Italy she has chosen attention. «You are the country where there is more attention to detail, to small things, to people. And this translates into food, fashion, engineering – he told Corriere della Sera -. When we talk about Italy in the world, we talk about this ». Velasca shoes would almost certainly comfort her on the subject.