An interview with Massimiliano Sani of Buttero
Buttero is a “since forever” brand. Established in 1974, in Tuscany, Italy, by Mauro Sani, the shoemaking brand is currently one of the top world references when it comes to quality and stylish footwear pieces.
Just like other premium footwear brands like Grenson or even Common Projects, Buttero is simply distinct. Even if its history spreads for only 40 years, the fact is that it seems that it was always here, like all the best things are.
We sat down with Massimiliano Sani, Buttero’s creative director, to talk about heritage, inspiration and just how it feels to run a family business. Read below.
What is your first memory of Buttero? What do you remember the most?
Buttero is my family… I grew up with the brand. I can remember when I was a child: the word Buttero was pronounced time and time again at home; it was one of the first words I learned together with “dad” and “mum”. My father is still proud of his own factory and how we grew up in the world.
How did you first become involved with the brand?
I started to work at Buttero when I was 21 years old, after some experiences outside of the factory in some of the most important fashion locations such as Milan and also in the UK. When I started with Buttero my first interest was to know how a shoe was made, after that, I started to develop the product.
Tell us about just how it is to run a family business – Buttero still is a family business, but will it continue to be like that?
Of course, it’s still a family business… and now also my older brother’s son has started to be in charge at Buttero… I just hope he can feel the same passion and dedication as I did. I just enjoy being a part of a family business… but sometimes it is also quite hard.
In terms of design – what are your main inspirations?
Massimiliano Sani
My best inspiration is Tuscany, the place where my father founded the brand and I’m inspired by all the things linked to this beautiful region. I am also interested in what happens in the world, to be contemporary!
Finally, I also use to travel in Asia, where my favorite city is Tokyo.
What can you tell us about the production process? Just how important it is to keep things simple?
Our strategy is to be simple but tasty! Without forgetting our origin!
Can you share with us some info about any important upcoming special projects?
A lot of brands are looking to collaborate with us. At the moment we are working with Woolrich but in the past, we also had some other important collaboration sets with Master Piece, Sophnet, and Number nine…
Discover more about Buttero.