TALKING CLASSICS WITH
MAURO SIMIONATO
Italian footwear-brand Volta are an
ambitious bunch; their aim is to
create "instant classics" and with
their new model, the Strada, they
think they have found the next
evolution in everyday technical
footwear.
We spoke to Mauro Simionato - one of
the four founding members of Volta -
about how the brand grew from a small
shared flat in Milan, why the idea of
creating a classic is so important to
them, and how they came to develop
a relationship with one of the world's
leading technical sole manufacturers,
Vibram.
Use the navigation arrows on the right and
the left of this page to explore the interview.
Mark | oki-ni: Hi Mauro, it seems right to start at the beginning. Can you tell us why you and the other three founders created Volta?
Mauro | Volta: We came from different fields - marketing, retail and art-direction - and we all really wanted to found a brand. We wanted it to be our own brand, managed in our own way, and knew it was going to be a fulfilling experience.
Collectively we identified footwear as the first thing to focus on because we had good experience and believed that footwear was, and is, one of the most interesting branches of fashion.
In the future we will surely move on, but at the moment it’s all about Volta footwear.
Mark | oki-ni: I’ve been told that the four of you all live together like a family – team Volta! Do you find this helps or hinders your work?
Mauro | Volta: It would be more accurate to say we became friends after becoming business partners. We founded Twentyfourseven (the creative collective of which Volta is a part) soon after we all met, in fall of 2007. Two of us were running Soda Studio from Milano, while the other two were still living in their respective hometowns.
To speed up the development of the Twentyfourseven group we decided to share two small rooms of a flat in the centre of the city. It was very uncomfortable, but very inspiring as well. By the time the collective was fully up-and-running (in the spring of 2008), we realised that our vision was so ambitious it required that strong daily relationship. So we took a bigger shared apartment, where we all still live.
It has been an important part of our growth, and still is; dinners and weekends are the moments to talk things over, think aloud, and have fun. It’s during this time that we have the best chance to calm down and shed the tensions that accumulate during the working day.
Mark | oki-ni: Your aim at Volta is to create “instant classics”. Does this mean you’re happy to sail against the prevailing winds of fashion?
Mauro | Volta: For us, to be outside of trends and seasonal phenomena is probably the most appealing aspect of “classics”.
The biggest challenge for us was to design something simple and recognisable, as well as being new and desirable. We think we have achieved this. When you see a Volta Classic it calls to mind many shoes you have owned, or still do own. Yet you recognise it as a Volta - on the street or on the shelf - because of its unique features and because it was one of the first shoes to re-launch the mid-cut shape.
Mark | oki-ni: The Volta Classic certainly has an iconic and recognisable design, which is certainly an integral part of becoming a "classic". How did you arrive at this?
Mauro | Volta: The design was based on our perceived need for a next generation of shoe.
It all started back in 2007 during a dinner with myself and Giacomo (the Volta Design Director). We spoke about how the shoe we wanted wasn't around yet and about how the comfort of sneakers should be mixed with more casual themes. Once we understood a hybrid was the solution, we began the product development on one side and the brand design on the other.
We took inspiration from the all-time-classics, like Clarks, Timberland and Sebago. What they all have in common is that they are cutting-edge in both their design and their brand identity. They are brands that, with their output and their outlook, have not only changed the market but also the lifestyles of their consumer. As a small up-and-coming brand we are trying to achieve both of these goals in the long-term.
Mark | oki-ni: You mentioned the long-term there. Another aspect of a classic has to be longevity and being able to stand the test of time. Would you agree?
Mauro | Volta: Yes, certainly. When we built our company we based it on multidisciplinary approach, with the aim of insuring a long-term future in each area. If our claim is to create “instant classics” then longevity has to be part of our strategic growth.
Mark | oki-ni: As you have already hinted at, to be a “classic” a product must fulfil a consumer need. Which gap in the market is your new shoe, the Strada, seeking to fill?
Mauro | Volta: Three years ago we felt that the market needed a sneaker-boot hybrid, so we created the Classic. Two years ago we felt an evolution of the hi-top was the way to go. Last year we felt hi-tech and outdoor would be the new themes to explore, which meant for us new market opportunities and, moreover, new everyday needs to fulfil.
From this idea came the need for a new cross-training shoe.
Mark | oki-ni: And what shaped the design of the Strada?
Mauro | Volta: The Strada was a real departure for us because of the low shape. The shoe design centred on the desire to make the first low-top Volta, or to create a low-top shoe that could be instantly recognised as a Volta product. So we thought about making the low-top into a cross-trainer and this led us to contact the number-one company for performance soles, Vibram.
Mark | oki-ni: Why was it so important to get Vibram on-board?
Mauro | Volta: To create an everyday cross-trainer we needed a specific sole that was very clean on the outside and quite technical on the inside. We needed it to be cutting-edge in terms of look and shape, so we felt like going all the way to the top and Vibram are certainly the best sole supplier for outdoor gear.
Luckily they showed a great interest in our project from the very beginning and within a few weeks we were sitting in meetings with their designers and production managers designing the new exclusive Vibram CT sole.
It has been a very important experience, to have the chance of working with a leading company like Vibram. It has helped us understand what excellence means and what it takes to maintain that excellence over the years.
Last but not least, I think this partnership between two 100% Italian companies, one new and one established, is quite unusual to find in our field and I hope it will be the first of many.
Mark | oki-ni: You decided to put the new Strada through its paces, if you’ll excuse the pun, with the X-travelling series. Can you explain what this is and why it was important to showcase the Strada in this way?
Mauro | Volta: The X-travelling series is a way of communicating the fundamental concept of the Strada line.
We thought the best way to share this new breed of cross-trainer was to get it tested by friends and influential people, and to collect their feedback in the form of media galleries containing photographs, video, drawings and writing. It was important for us that the product is not the centre of the message, but is an invisible part of it.
We think the Strada is the next "daily" shoe and this moves beyond fashion and into lifestyle. Yes, you could say that the Strada is strongly linked to the current outdoor/performance trend, but the media galleries of the X-Travelling series will show the shoes as part of a cultural experience, rather than focusing on performance or fashion
The idea of the X-travelling series is to communicate interesting stories and quality in general. What is really comes down to, is us sharing the things we love with our customers.
See more media from the
X-traveling series including
pictures from India, video
from Tokyo and a mixtape
from New York by
clicking here.
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