The Cleo, Venetian brand Rene Caovilla’s most famous shoe, is essentially a surrealist object. It borrows its design from traditional Roman serpentine bracelets, but twists its coil around the ankle instead of the wrist. The Surrealists called this dépaysement, or “displacement”, rendering a familiar object strange and dream-like by moving it from its expected context to a new one. Serpentine bracelets have been worn since at least the 1st century, with a famous example being one of the most debated artefacts of all time – the Moregine bracelet exhibited in the Hall of Bronzes at the Naples Archaeological Museum, found in the ruins of Pompeii.

Today, this 2,000-year-old concept can be seen coiled around the ankles of the world’s most photographed women. In recent years, the Cleo has gone from beloved cult item to it-shoe de rigueur: Zendaya, Jessica Chastain and Rihanna have all been spotted at red carpet events – the Met Gala, the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival – sporting the side-winding shoe. It’s the ideal complement to the hyper-visual celebrity culture of the present day: as we exit the era of tasteful minimalism, shoes no longer peek from under the train of a dress, but call out to be noticed. The brand has been fusing craft and spectacle for nearly a century. In 1923, Edoardo Caovilla began his shoe-making business outside the centre of Venice. His son, René, who had pursued an education in fashion in London and Paris, returned home in the early 1930s to join the family business. An artist at heart, he fused the family’s technical mastery with an ambition to combine couture and art. By 1934, Rene Caovilla – the brand – was born.

For the shoemaking house, Venetian patrimony is not merely an aesthetic influence; it is the wellspring of its most profound commitment, the patronage of art. Starting in 2014, Caovilla has maintained an ongoing partnership with the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and has contributed to the Collection’s touring exhibitions. It’s a natural fit: in the same way Guggenheim championed the avant-garde, so too does Caovilla embrace innovation, daring craftsmanship, and a belief in the transformative power of art. The patronage funds exhibitions, educational programs and contributes to the conservation of art, demonstrating an honest cultural credibility.

Since 1934, Caovilla’s collections have been conceived and made entirely in Italy. All the shoes are designed and produced in the Venetian region, specifically in Fiesso d’Artico and are crafted by local artisans, using a blend of traditional manual techniques, alongside modern machinery. A state-of-the-art machine is used to count the glinting crystals placed across the straps of Cleo shoes, before these stones are painstakingly applied by hand, row after row. Each shoe takes at least two full days to complete. Through craftsmanship mixed with innovative techniques, Caovilla presents a look into the future of shoe-making without losing its homegrown Italian roots.

Today, the Cleo sandal’s serpentine coil has slithered far beyond its Venetian home base to red carpets the world over, where the Cleo is often as iconic and attention-grabbing as the outfits it accompanies. In an era in which every red-carpet detail is scrutinised, the Cleo is both worn and performed, an enduring image of art and audacity. .

All shoes are by Rene Caovilla.

Styling: Lorenzo Garzelli / Set design: Guiditta Vettese / Set-design assistant: Ornella Cardillo