«I want my shoes to be pure experience. I want to make the senses talk to the heart and dress women’s feet, guarding their inner beauty»
The words of Francesco d’Amico, born in 1982 in Latina, who studied at the Accademia di Costume & Moda Fashion School in Rome and experienced a number of years as senior designer at the Massimo Monteforte consulting studio, where he worked for brands like Annapurna, Gentryportofino and Ballantyne. There, he became interested in the world of footwear, so much so that in 2015 he launched his own brand, Damico Milano, which debuted the following year with a spring/summer collection of all-Italian women’s shoes made in the famous Parabiago footwear district. He immediately grabbed the attention of some of the biggest Italian and international retailers.
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The young designer’s talent was also recognised by the panel of judges for the Ramponi Prize, a competition dedicated to new fashion talents that has now been held four times. The competition is the brainchild of Alfredo Ramponi, who owns the company of the same name that produces synthetic crystals and studs for clothing and accessories. Ramponi declared: “To cultivate and develop new talent, we need to allow ourselves more latitude. The aim of the promotion and enhancement activities pursued by my company is to create a dialogue and build professional friendships with the participants of the various editions. In this sense, the design evolution of the Ramponi Prize is part of a broader patronage and support programme that will develop fully over the next few seasons. With this new role, the competition will aim to create a support network that will enable designers to grow and that leaves the design process an independent one.”
The new collection from Damico Milano (find a sneak preview below) will be unveiled at the next White Man & Woman trade fair, from 14 to 16 January in Milan.
The trade show of emerging brands, White, is a partner of the competition, together with publishing house Nuova Libra.
Fun fact: all shoes designed by d’Amico feature a small “signature”: a fine gold thread on the sole.
