72 ITALIA! November 2016DISCOVER ITALIA!
“Learning how to build shoes without seeing it done
afterwards would be a bit of a contradiction in terms!”
laughs Matteo Pasca, CEO at Ars Sutoria. “If what you
do involves solely designing footwear, you are not ready
to work in a company. Spending time in the sample
room allows students to be aware of the opportunities
and of the challenges that can arise during shoe
production in a factory.”
Opened more than 60 years ago, Ars Sutoria moved
to its current premises in central Milan in the 1960s.
“In those times there was no distinction between the
designer and the pattern maker,” explains Signor Pasca.
“The school was initially aimed at the workers from shoe
factories around Milan, but it soon attracted foreign
students, thanks to its prime location.” Quite true.
Italy is a world leader in the production of footwear and
Milan is still an undisputed capital of fashion; there is
little more a student could wish for.BUSTLING WITH ENERGY
Nowadays the reputation of the school is like a magnet
for students from all over the world. A new course
started last week. The sample room is still empty for
the time being, but the school’s two classrooms are
bustling with energy. Today students are facing their
first ‘Monday test’ since the beginning of the course, in
which they are expected to reproduce all the techniques
they learned during the previous week. EverybodyIT144.BestFootForward.sg6.indd 72 28/09/2016 14:34pm