Vigevano and the Italian footwear mourn the death of Armando Pollini, 85, who suffered a heart attack last Friday, June 18, 2021. Pollini (in the Imagoeconomica archive photo, dating back to 2002) was a true example of a life dedicated to shoes from a creative, entrepreneurial and cultural point of view. In Italy and in the world. After his company became part of the Aeffe Group in 2000, he dedicated himself to the Vigevano Shoe Museum.
Armando Pollini
Armando Pollini was born in Vigevano in 1935. His father was a model maker and his mother a hemmer. He immediately became passionate about the world of footwear and, in 1958, opened his shoe workshop. The trips abroad, the acquaintances with important designers and the collaboration with Elio Fiorucci opened him the doors of fame. Some of his models, in fact, are part of the history of footwear. For example, the Cloudy décolletée in blue suede and silver clouds (homage to René Magritte’s painting “The big family”) is on display at the MET – Metropolitan Museum in New York. Other models, on the other hand, have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
The company
As L’informatore Vigevanese recalls, Armando Pollini Design was born in 1981, and remained active until 2003, despite the fact that in 2000 it entered the brand portfolio of the Aeffe group, from Romagna. Since 2003, Pollini has dedicated himself to the Vigevano Footwear Museum, to which he donated his entire collection and of which, in recent years, he has been the scientific curator. From 2009 to 2012, he taught footwear fashion at Politecnico in Milan.
Beyond shoes
Pollini, in his life, was also a great sportsman. In fact, in the 1960s he wore the blue jersey of the National Athletics Team for the 400 obstacles specialty. At the beginning of the 1980s, he was president of the Vigevano Football Club. In addition to his sporting commitments, Pollini held political positions and founded the magazine Foto Shoe. Armando Pollini leaves his wife Paola Roberta Motta, with whom he shared his passion for footwear.
