Casadei’s Blade Heels have earned a place in fashion history. Cesare was born in 1962 to Quinto and Flora Casadei, two artisans who, in 1958, founded Calzaturificio Casadei, just outside Rimini. Here, they initially produced sandals for tourists, later branching out onto the national and international market. For Cesare, there are no boundaries: neither his house, nor his factory, nor the warehouse in which the skins are stored have any walls: everything flows seamlessly amidst prototypes, production, skilled artisans and expert hands, resulting in those small masterpieces that go by the name of shoes.
As an adolescent, he was schooled in Switzerland, where he received an international education. It was the Seventies, a time of revolution and innovation: travel, a quest for freedom and a desire to discover new horizons were the ideals that inspired him more than anything else.
His passion for his parents’ business resulted in his decision to return to his roots in order to work in their company where, in the mid-eighties, he started producing his own line with a team of 10 skilled workers. This was the hardest, most formative moment of his career: his work became a serious activity, his relationship with his suppliers became more complex and the production of his footwear began to increase at a steady pace. He started off with unisex styles, subsequently going on to manufacture casual footwear until finally reaching the height of his creativity with the production of phenomenal, spectacular pieces.
The Blade style has weared by high-profile celebrities and fashion addicts. And true to its name, the Blade model really is blade-like: a sharp, high, warning-sign spike of a heel. When I conceived the Blade, I talk engineering and construction because it’s [about] the right balance between everything … like a building: The architect, they need to work together with the engineer. The architect does the ‘look’ of the building, but immediately you need to think what is available and what is important to build this in reality,” says Cesare in his charming Italian accent.
In fact, it took well over six months alongside an engineer to make these heels happen—and all the while his father, and many other colleagues, were encouraging Cesare to give up on his vision. In went a steel reinforcement, et voilá! A cult shoe style was born.