More than the name of a footwear brand, Franco Sarto the man is the driving inspiration and passion behind the actual designs. Born in 1949 in Dolo, a small town outside of Venice, Italy, Sarto’s passion struck early. By the age of 14, Sarto was working in a shoe factory where his job was to sit on a stool and hand-last shoes with a hammer and nails.

By his early twenties, Sarto knew shoes and fashion were to be his life, so he packed up and moved to Stra — the center of shoe design for all of Italy. He quickly partnered with another designer and opened up a studio where they made models of their designs and sold the prototypes to visiting wholesalers and retailers from around the world.

It is Sarto’s start as a cobbler—and his passion as a designer—that makes him a rarity in the business; he designs his shoes both with the sweat and blood of a technician and the grace and beauty of a world-renowned fashion designer. To this day, Sarto hand sketches many of his designs and is well known for his drawings during public appearances

While the technician in him continually pushes to make shoes as comfortable as possible, the other side of Franco Sarto lives for fashion. He understands a woman’s undying passion for shoes and is dedicated to keeping that passion alive by crafting beautiful shoes that bring joy to women around the world.