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Via Venturi
Led by designer Paola Venturi, Via Spiga is reviving its Italian heritage with a modern twist.
Via Spiga is on a new path.
Though the nearly 25-year-old brand has enjoyed a loyal following for its sophisticated day-to-night shoes, company executives are now making a push to mix things up, tap into Via Spiga's roots and position the brand at the forefront of the bridge market.
Established in 1985 and named after one of Milan's more fashionable streets, Via della Spiga, the brand found success with Italian-made pumps for the office and evenings. But over the years, it struggled through a series of acquisitions which ultimately ended in 2005 with Brown Shoe Co.'s takeover of the brand.
Via Spiga lost its way a little bit during all those changes, said Jay Schmidt, SVP and GM of Brown's image brands, who joined the company and took the helm at Via Spiga in June 2008. In the year since, Schmidt has been working to strengthen the product mix and bring a clearer focus to the brand. Whenever something is not quite connecting with the customer, you have to look at the reasons why, he said. It became clear that, while we had some good shoes along the way, we didn't have that one person pulling together that branded effort.
To that end, Brown searched for a creative director who could build a lifestyle brand, from working with accessories licensees to overseeing construction and present it in a cohesive way. A creative...