Sergio Rossi, legendary shoe sculptor, dies at 84 from coronavirus

Sergio Rossi, the legendary Italian shoe designer known for sculpting women's footwear, died on April 2, 2020, at the Bufalini Hospital in Cesena at age 84, after being hospitalized in his final days. Born in San Mauro Pascoli in 1935, Rossi inherited shoemaking from his father and began working at 14 in the family workshop, later selling at stalls along the Romagna Riviera. He founded his company in 1951, which was acquired by Gucci Group (later Kering) in 1999 and sold to Investindustrial private equity in 2015. Rossi had stopped actively designing years before his death. Renowned as a master craftsman, he carved shoe lasts from rosewood or ash, shaping them with files and sandpaper over days to create forms for uppers. Alongside Manolo Blahnik and Salvatore Ferragamo, he was considered among the world's best. His collaborations with designers like Versace, Alaïa, and Dolce&Gabbana brought his creations to runways globally. Rossi was known for his precise eye, famously instructing a colleague to adjust a last by "three millimeters to the right." He died from complications of COVID-19.