Gianvito Rossi Marked 20 Years of Fabulous Footwear and a New Rizzoli Tome

Gianvito Rossi’s signature leg-lengthening stilettos with plexi panels offering a window onto the foot are something of a footwear miracle: They’re incredibly sexy and incredibly comfortable. For the brand’s 20th anniversary celebration at Palazzo Serbelloni during Milan Fashion Week, both Naomi Watts and Paloma Elsesser turned up in the Jessica, a patent leather and plexi d’Orsay style with a towering 4.5-inch heel, and told Vogue they were more than happy to spend the evening on their feet.

“I love the comfort and elegance,” said Watts, who styled her Jessicas with an Attersee pleated halter top and wide-leg trousers. “For me, elegance quickly fades if it’s not comfortable. Some people will suffer, but I don’t want to anymore.”

Elsesser, who also selected plexi Gianvito Rossis for her Vogue fall shopping guide, teamed her pair with a vintage Jean Paul Gaultier skirt and a leather bustier she thrifted in Paris. “There’s an admiration and a thought of the sensuality of women, but the need for comfort as well,” she said.

That wearability comes down to the engineering of the shoe: Rossi shapes the sole so the foot stays in contact with it, and carefully calibrates the placement of the heel to improve balance. And it’s part of what has made Gianvito Rossi heels such enduring classics, a point underscored by the fact that the milestone celebration also doubled as a book launch for the designer’s new Rizzoli monograph, Gianvito Rossi: My Shoes, which is set to be released in February. Copies of the tome sat on Cipria pink plinths beside shoes from the spring 2027 collection, while models stood behind gilded frames with only their shoes in view. Even the cocktails took their names from house favorites including the Plexi, Vamp, Gianvito 105, and Portofino.

Rossi is deeply inspired by Umberto Boccioni’s Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, the Futurist sculpture of a figure striding forward, its body fragmented into aerodynamic forms that suggest speed and movement. The designer told Vogue that there are “two souls” to every collection, or perhaps that should be soles: one rooted in the house’s design language and another devoted to inventing new ideas that might eventually become signatures themselves. “There’s a part of the collection that is more about evolution, and there’s another part of the collection that is more about innovation,” he said.

For spring 2027, he’s particularly excited about the new Super Loop, with multiple straps arching around the foot, as well as several styles with long fringe that heightens the sense of movement. There’s still plenty of plexi too. (Watts said she was already looking forward to getting her feet into a new pair of plexi thong sandals.) As for the next 20 years? “I’m just happy to continue making new things that stimulate curiosity and fun,” Rossi said.