For my upcoming first gallery show of The Gilded Owl this spring I wanted the focus to be on design that I had previously covered over the past year that recognized outstanding craftsmanship. Since I was going to include works by Gio Ponti, Carlo Mollino and a collection of Chiavari chairs both old and new I decided to approach Rubelli, the renowned textile company founded in 1858 in Venice. Punteggiato is just one of six textiles Gio Ponti created for Rubelli in 1934 and they reintroduced the collection in conjunction with their Rizzoli monograph Rubelli: A Story of Silk In Venice.
The shoe manufacturer Santoni produced a capsule collection made of these exquisite fabrics and began producing them last month. Santoni was founded in 1975 by Andrea Santoni and his son Giuseppe now runs the 400 employee luxury shoe business. The made-to-measure shoes combine old world detailing and craft with innovative technology of today and the company also happens to be 90% sustainable with a state of the art facility where the use of natural resources allow lower levels of energy consumption. Great design and good for the environment but at the same time creating extraordinarily beautiful design, following are Santoni’s collection featuring Gio Ponti/Rubelli textiles.
Gio Ponti Punteggiato in Cina for Rubelli
Punteggiato, designed by Gio Ponti, is a velvet pointillist pattern rich in subtle tonalities and available in 7 colorways. The relief in playful placement and rigid geometry broken down into a feeling of fun two-pile ciselé velvet, cut and loop, on a metallic ground. This new version of the pattern, originally woven by hand since 1934 by Rubelli itself, maintains the features of the original design.
Santoni men’s shoes in Gio Ponti silk velvet Punteggiato for Rubelli
Gio Ponti Punteggiato in Madreperla for Rubelli
Santoni + Rubelli, the Venetian firm that represents a point of reference worldwide for high-end fabrics combines two excellencies of made in Italy sharing the same passion for timeless elegance. The result is a small romantic masterpiece of pure Venetian taste, a collection where baroque suggestions blend with the design mastery of Gio Ponti’s avant-garde spirit.
Santoni / www.santonishoes.com
Rubelli / www.rubelli.com