50th Anniversary

Casadei marked its 50th anniversary during Milan women’s fashion week with a double celebration — the launch of a book that traces the Italian shoe brand’s history back to its beginnings in 1958, and a cocktail party.

The event’s festivities were held in Milan’s historical design museum La Triennale on September 21, 2008. A new shoe collection specially created by Cesare Casadei for the company’s anniversary was unveiled at the party. Ellen von Unwerth shot the collection’s 11 shoe designs in Paris as an insert for the company’s anniversary book. At the event, oversized versions 
of the provocative, black and white images were suspended from La Triennale’s lofty ceiling. Corresponding shoes from the collection were displayed underneath the photos. Handcrafted by Casadei’s skilled artisans, the anniversary models revealed the brand’s intricate workmanship, using some of the company’s most elaborate shoemaking techniques.

Casadei also honored its historic milestone in a book with three parts. The first section featured an interview with Cesare Casadei by Massimo Torrigiani, paired with photos, drawings and advertising campaign images from Casadei’s archive. The book’s middle segment traced the 50-year-old shoe brand’s history, penned by Mariuccia Casadio. The second section also contained images of 100 pairs of shoes from the Casadei archivesdating from spring/summer 1958 to spring/summer 2008. Ellen von Unwerth’s sensual images of Cesare Casadei’s anniversary shoe collection was inserted as a leaflet at the end of the book with an introduction of Godfrey Deeny.