Calzoleria Rivolta

It all began with the first atelier, opened by Enrico Rivolta in 1883 in Via del Gesù, Milan. Calzoleria Rivolta soon made a name for itself, thanks to its exquisitely handcrafted bespoke shoes, using the most refined cobbling techniques.

Before WW II, the atelier was moved to Via Verri by Enrico’s son, Franco Rivolta. In Guido Vergani’s “Dictionary of Fashion”, Franco offers this memory: “Then, through a glass door, a theatrical entrance made flesh, a living coup-de-théâtre, he would arrive, small, smiling, fast-moving, with tousled white hair.

He wore a white lavallière bow tie with white polka dots. Physically, he was somewhere between Arturo Toscanini and Charlie Chaplin’s Calvero from Limelight. Rivolta’s last produced shoes gave every man’s foot an unrivalled slenderness.”

During the fervid years of the reconstruction and the economic boom of the ‘60s, Rivolta made to measure shoes became the ultimate in masculine elegance. In addition to many of the leading Milanese aristocratic and bourgeois families and cultural figures, clients came from all over Italy, and many aficionados from overseas followed suit as well, especially from the UK.

In 2000, Fabrizio Rivolta, a direct descendant of Enrico and Franco, decided to dedicate his efforts to extending the family tradition, taking advantage of the documents in his possession and his inside knowledge of the brand.

In 2009 the new atelier Rivolta opened in Via della Spiga 17.

The Milanese shoemaking school – elegantly rigorous and simple in shape – has been combined with technical expertise, a marked artisanal propensity, superior workmanship – hand-welted Goodyear, Blake, Norvegese – and advanced digital processing.

The product range, rigorously handmade in Italy, is divided among various sectors: bespoke, personalized or made to order and 1883 Heritage and Aria loafers collections in prêt-à-porter.