The idea struck Dominique Rondini, a Tuscan shoemaker who\u2019d come to open a shoe workshop in the bailiff of Suffren\u2019s building in Saint-Tropez. This was 1927 and at the beginning of that decade, one man – Monsieur Robert – brought gladiator sandals back into fashion, this \u201cGreek sandal\u201d who\u2019s allure and measures he copied from an ancient statue. He named it Trop\u00e9zienne. Completely flat, made entirely of leather, modest, supple, and robust, the sandal was made to be resistant to water and salt. So in 1927, Rondini opened his workshop and a sandal boutique to fabricate his trop\u00e9ziennes piece by piece – it\u2019s still the only boutique today.<\/p>\n
Everything is still happening today just like it did yesterday: it is in this workshop, located in the back of the boutique, that the Rondini family thinks up and produces their trop\u00e9ziennes. The original sandal didn\u2019t have a buckle on the back, so as not to \u201cruin the line\u201d. Throughout the generations, the Rondinis have broadened their offerings to include thirty different styles. They\u2019re still artisans, far from the creative tumult of businessmen. In the earlier stages, Dominique Rondini only put up one single handmade style for sale. He attracted the eyes of writer Colette as well as Marlene Dietrich. From this natural leather is released a casual and free chic. A little something \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise<\/em>, made with French leather and tanned with oak bark.<\/p>\n In 1933, another brand went down to Saint-Tropez and fell under the trop\u00e9zienne\u2019s charm: K. Jacques would design this new sandal. But the two brands are not rivals: the Keklikian family has collaborated with Karl Lagerfeld, Isabel Marant, and Vanessa Bruno, sometimes with reticence, opting to anchor themselves and fashions and trends, while the Rondini family prefers to remain traditional. It wasn\u2019t until the arrival of Dominique Rondini\u2019s son Serge that the line expanded: the lines were then custom-made, taking inspiration from the Indies, Egypt, the Sahara, and the island of Capri. K. Jacques garnered acclaim in the 30s from artists, political personalities, for his 20-30 annual styles; now the Keklikian family is pursuing his discovery of new colors, usage of other materials like veal or python, all while taking care to preserve the functional essence of the sandal. And it\u2019s in this purist style that you can find this simple shoe\u2019s secret to longevity. Seen on the feet of Kate Moss or In\u00e8s de la Fressange, one thing is certain: there will always be trop\u00e9ziennes.<\/p>\n The idea struck Dominique Rondini, a Tuscan shoemaker who\u2019d come to open a shoe workshop in the bailiff of Suffren\u2019s building in Saint-Tropez. This was 1927 and at the beginning of that decade, one man – Monsieur Robert – brought gladiator sandals back into fashion, this \u201cGreek sandal\u201d who\u2019s allure and measures he copied from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4796,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,9],"tags":[9412,9411,9413,8956,9414,2248,2037,9410,9409],"class_list":["post-4799","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fashion-accessories","category-shoes","tag-dominique-rondini-shoemaker","tag-french-riviera","tag-gladiator-sandals","tag-history-of-an-icon","tag-k-jaques","tag-leather","tag-saint-tropez","tag-tropeziennes-fishman-sandals","tag-tropeziennes-sandals"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n