Chanel-Owned Roveda Launches Shoe-Making Training Program
The program aims to help spread awareness about the role of artisans in the world of fashion.
Roveda, the Chanel-owned footwear subsidiary, has just launched a training program for future shoemakers.
Roveda said it created the new program to respond to the growing demand for products from luxury fashion houses and the need for talent to support it. Roveda has crafted high-quality footwear products for several luxury brands since 1955 and was purchased by Chanel in 2000.
The company announced the new initiative during the Micam trade show in Milan this week.
The program is named “M’Astri Nascenti – Lezioni d’Arte e Mestieri” to call out experienced shoe makers as well as newcomers to the profession. The program will help shoe makers hone and perfect their craft. It will also help spread awareness about the role of artisans in the world of fashion.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to promote the people who work for Roveda by focusing on the present but also on future challenges,” said Nadia Minini, Roveda’s general manager, in a statement. “There is great pride in being the holder of ancient knowledge and it is important, in addition to protecting it, to share it with those who will join us. The excellence and beauty of our collections are in fact the result of great know-how which, combined with innovation, creates a true harmony between past experiences and the future.”
The program is divided into two parts. The first part seeks to educate employees about the history and importance of luxury craftsmanship and is in partnership with Politecnico di Milan. The second part focuses on the technical aspects of shoe-making with four modules focused on cutting, stitching, assembly and finishing, presented by the Arsutoria school in Milan. The teachers in this program will be a mix of artisans and former shoe making employees.
Through this program, Roveda will cultivate a class of new talented craftsmen to join the brand’s existing workforce of 400 people in its Parabiago factory, only a few kilometres from Milan.