Italian Shoemaker Aquazzura Steps Into Home—Here’s an Exclusive First Look

Colombian-born designer Edgardo Osorio toyed with the idea of naming the chic footwear brand he launched in 2012 after himself, but in the back of his mind, he anticipated that one day it would evolve from brightly hued women’s shoes made in Italy into a full-fledged lifestyle company. So, he opted for Aquazzura instead “because it suggested the idea of Italian dolce vita,” he tells AD PRO. A decade later, Osorio’s vision for expansion is coming true with the unveiling of Aquazzura Casa, a joyful homeware venture spanning ceramics, linens, and glassware, at Salone del Mobile this week.

Osorio, who worked at labels such as Salvatore Ferragamo and Roberto Cavalli before making his mark with Aquazzura, is synonymous with handmade celebrity-beloved shoes. But the designer has always had a passion for the design of built environments and home objects. “My mother was an interior designer, and my father worked in real estate and construction, and that very much influenced my life,” he explains, noting how much of his free time is spent visiting art fairs and flea markets and perusing auction catalogs.

The brand’s theatrical boutiques, found in Florence, London, New York, Miami, Doha, Dubai, Milan, Capri, and São Paulo, are as thrilling as the goods they display, decked out in the likes of snazzy black-and-white stripes and shimmering brass. “They are my little living rooms,” Osorio adds. “I want you to feel like you’re coming home when you’re inside them.”

Osorio, who believes in nurturing through comfort and beauty, saw the Aquazzura Casa line as natural crossover territory. Lockdown life afforded him time to develop the project, for which he tapped event planner Fiona Leahy, of the eponymous London studio, to be co-creative director.

Together they have dreamed up vivid tablescapes that capture joie de vivre, a spirit he feels is lacking in the luxury market. “I wanted to step away from the usual crystal and gold and white. There’s so much that can be done with color and pattern,” Osorio says.