Gherardo Felloni

Gherardo Felloni (born 27 February 1980) is an Italian fashion designer, currently the creative director of the House of Roger Vivier.

Early life and education
Felloni was born in the Tuscany region of Italy in the 1980s. He grew up in a family of footwear artisans and shoemakers. Both his uncle and father had a shoe factory that was active from 1958 through the early 2000s in Arezzo. The factory made shoe samples for designers like Prada, Gucci, and Hermès.

Felloni pursued his high school diploma with a focus on biological-sanitary scientific studies. Later, he studied opera at the Conservatoire de Paris and sang as a tenor opera singer, counting Laura Agnoloni as one of his teachers. He also studied acting in Rome, with actress and producer Stefania de Santis. He collects contemporary art as well as antique jewelry from the 19th century which play heavily into his influences and style. The designer spends much of his time on Faro delle Vaccarecce, a lighthouse he resides in on the Isola del Giglio.

Career
Felloni worked for Fendi and Helmut Lang and eventually moved to Paris, France, to work for Dior. Afterwards, he worked for Miu Miu and Prada for over a decade.

In 2018, Felloni became creative director of Roger Vivier. Since stepping into the shoes of the house’s legendary namesake, he has embodied Vivier’s use of color, shape and its signature square buckle, while moving the brand forward with a modern approach. Upon his appointment, he redesigned the headquarters in Paris and continues to delve into interior design elsewhere intermixing the old and modern, with works of art, shoes, auctioned items, and souvenirs throughout the headquarters and his home. His interior design style has been called mixing exuberance and elegance with bits and pieces of architectural formalism.

The designer brought back the brand’s couture week presentation in July 2023, showing a collection of one-of-a-kind handbags as part of a larger vision to embolden the accessories business. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of Roger Vivier's Virgule heel, Felloni re-launched the shoe for Fall/Winter 2024. The updated shoe was highlighted by bold colors and shine. He launched a jewelry category early in his tenure Roger Vivier; having come from Miu Miu where he had been head of footwear, leather goods and costume jewelry. In November 2023, he was named Designer of the Year at the 37th annual FN Achievement Awards.

One of his initial moves at the label was to introduce its first sneaker, the Viv’Run, and he reintroduced the classic Viv’Canard for spring ’24, taking the traditional slingback shape forward with an elongated toe. Other models Gherardo introduced while at Roger Vivier included a buckled shoe which presented a longer buckle and thicker heel as well as the Maharaja slipper which was made slimmer, covered in stones, and accessorized with a single feather.

Inès de La Fressange is one of the Houses long-term international ambassadors and so is actress Catherine Deneuve.