1985
• Designer Paolo Batacchi and business partner Dan Allen launch Via Spiga for New York-based footwear firm Intershoe Co.
1998
• Brand bows first store on Madison Avenue in New York.
• Ernesto Esposito (below)becomes lead designer.
1999
• Stores open in Dallas, Miami and New York’s Soho neighborhood.
2000
• Via Spiga debuts men’s footwear.
• First Asian store opens in Hong Kong.
2001
• Licensing partner S. Rothschild introduces outerwear.
2002
• Eyewear, legwear and handbags collections launch.
2004
• Bennett Footwear acquires Intershoe.
2005
• Brown Shoe Co. buys Bennett Footwear for $205 million, and Via Spiga joins portfolio that includes Naturalizer, Buster Brown and Dr. Scholl’s.
2006
• Gianfranco Massetti brought on as Via Spiga’s new creative director.
• Eastman Footwear lands men’s licensing deal.
• Brown begins shuttering Via Spiga stores as it re-evaluates locations and store design concepts.
You May Also Like
2007
• Via Spiga debuts “Stop Traffic. Italian Style” tagline.
2008
• Brand collaborates with Vena Cava to create a capsule shoe collection for the ready-to-wear label’s spring ’09 runway show.
• Flagship store bows in Soho.
2009
• Paola Venturi takes over as creative director.
2010
• Jennifer Masella joins Via Spiga as GM.