Truthfully, the house of Vivier has always spoken to the woman who was part of a select club, so to speak.
As creative director of Roger Vivier—known for its bold buckle accents and long-lasting designs—Bruno Frisoni represents the future of a brand with a storied past.
When the house of Roger Vivier had the responsibility of filling the position of creative director after Roger Vivier’s passing in 1998, it was clear that the designated individual would have to possess certain qualities: an immense design talent with forward–thinking tendencies, the ability to remain true to the aesthetics embedded deep in the brand and a couturier’s sensibility.
In 2002 the position was filled. Enter Bruno Frisoni.
It’s been some years now; almost a decade, if counting that first year when Frisoni had a warm-up run of free experience sans limitations. Under his direction, the French footwear and accessories house–widely credited with inventing the stiletto heel in 1954–continues to create new revolutions in accessory design. Such revolutions include special, limited-edition couture collections, dubbed Rendez-Vous. These couture collections travel the world taking special orders from Vivier devotees across the globe. Recently, said collection took its very first, decided step on to United States soil, visiting the two existing Roger Vivier boutiques in the clever company of Frisoni himself.
And of course, since everything is limited in run, coveted en masse and all around difficult to acquire, this collection tops the list of must-haves. Haute Living caught up with the design talent to talk special implementations when it comes to creating couture footwear. What we learned was the fascinating tale of a man tooling away at vulture feathers or intricately knotted chiffon to develop wearable dreams unlike any other. Paper-thin wood coated with leather, special-order metallic weaves and other combinations that Frisoni described as “hard by soft,” ran rampant in this year’s Rendez-Vous, which had a rock ’n’ roll sensibility that was inspired by people, places and things; by the likes of Keith Richards and current-day Belgium.
It’s obvious that this super star—self-described as “patient, demanding and precise”—is always taking in his surroundings, while simultaneously looking to the legends of the past to be sure not to skip a beat. Well-edited in his appearance; posh for sure, he sat poolside at South Beach’s W Hotel observing the current-day jet set, but tucked strategically below his chair was his time machine, a copy of Simon Liberati’s Jayne Mansfield 1967. That’s what is so special about the world as created by Frisoni–you always get the promise of the past and the hope of the future.
For his next collection, different instruments were used to create harmony; color blocks, optical effects and African influences marry in this series, a series meant to appeal to the woman who lives her life in the treacherous confines of an urban jungle. Armed with the Roger Vivier S/S 2012 collection, she’s ready to conquer her world.
Truthfully, the house of Vivier has always spoken to the woman who was part of a select club, so to speak. The brand’s signature buckle even evokes that feeling; one that according to Frisoni, has a certain likening to European paintings of the past where kings were depicted wearing buckle-adorned shoes. Today, women continue to don said buckle with the same kind of nose-tilting confidence as the royals that came before them.
Luckily for us, Frisoni has expansion on his mind. As we strolled on the Miami Beach sands, capturing a new and refreshingly light-hearted side of this genius of accessory design, the man of the hour revealed plans for a third United States outpost for Roger Vivier set to open in Costa Mesa, Cali.; as well as an increased eyewear collection, a children’s line and a fragrance initiative. We like the smell of that.
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December 22, 2011KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL :: ANDREW CARMELLINI OF THE DUTCH AT W SOUTH
