Genesis. The idea and the name
How do you tell a story which begins by chance, in an undefined time? What if once upon a time there wasn't any king, or princess, or three little pigs with the big bad wolf, or a piece of wood? And what if there wasn't even one specific time? Let's see... There were times when a group of friends met and went to dance tango together. Ok, this is a decent start, it sounds good.
Tango, an exotic cultural expression coming from the deep south of the opposite hemisphere, was a practice still relatively unknown among the Florentine people, whose pride had always been, when it came down to style, never to be caught unprepared. So it happened that between a dance class and a milonga, among chats, ideas and comments on the local outfits and footwear, the aesthetically well trained eye and the entrepreneurial spirit of two members of the group spotted the opportunity for a creative, interesting project at the service of their common passion.
Federica e Leonardo started - respectively - to draw down sketches of shoes and heels and recruit artisans. Then several experiments and researches followed, in order to adapt the technique of the ancient Florentine artisan craftsmanship to the needs of the dance performances. To keep one's balance on high heels while sporting a sensual feline walk was not an easy business, especially with all those figures and pivots... PIVOT! That was a pretty good name for a shoe brand!
The two friends, quite happy with the idea, went to a milonga to celebrate. After a few chats and drinks, a good tanda was playing. Leonardo met Federica's eyes, she agreed, he approached and offered his arm, saying: "Madame"... Suddenly, the simple eye invitation turned into a deep look of mutual understanding and approval. MADAME PIVOT! Now, that was the perfect name and they moved to the dance floor completely satisfied!
After that famous "Brozzi tanda", from the name of the little provincial milonga which we like to think of as the birthplace of the brand, "Madame Pivot" appeared on soles and boxes and Federica and Leonardo quickly made loads of shoes, first for themselves, then for their friends and finally for the increasing number of tangueros who were curious about their creations.
The rest is history. And work in progress.