High-end footwear brand Sergio Rossi has appointed Paul Andrew as its new creative director. By Leatherbiz.

Paul Andrew is the former creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo; he has also worked alongside Donna Karan, Calvin Klein, Narciso Rodríguez and Alexander McQueen.

He first launched a footwear label of his own in 2012 and circled back to own-brand work after leaving Ferragamo in 2021.

In 2022, he created headlines when he said mushroom-based alternatives to leather that he had tried would not work in the type of shoes he wanted to make because they were not yet durable enough for footwear uppers.

He said he had carried out tests on the material but found that stretching it across a last was enough to tear it.