Designer Vince Camuto passes away, age 78

US designer Vince Camuto passed away earlier this week at his home in Greenwich, Connecticut, at the age of 78. Best known for his legendary shoe designs, Camuto was one of the founders behind high street footwear chain Nine West, before it was sold in 1999 to the Jones Group for the staggering sum of 900 million dollars.

Camuto first began his career at the young age of 18, handling customer complaints at I.Miller. Later, when he was in his mid-30s, he joined forces with Jerome Fisher, and together the founded the Nine West Group in 1978. Together they created a footwear brand which became one of the most well known labels throughout the Eighties and Nineties.

After the sale of Nine West, he had to wait for the two-year non-compete to expire before he could begin creating other footwear collections. He went on to found his own eponymous label in 2001, which expanded over the past years to become a multi-billion dollar empire covering a wide range of categories, including footwear, accessories, apparel and fragrances. He supported fellow designer, Tory Burch, with launch of her footwear range as well as artist Jessica Simpson with the creation of her footwear collection, acting as her business mentor.

His own namesake label is sold by a number of major retailers across the US as well as over 70 countries around the globe and the group currently operates 30 standalone stores in US. The Camuto Group and its partners hold 65 retail locations in addition throughout Canada, Europe, Mexico, South America, the Middle East and Asia.

Camuto passing was met with a mix of remorse and strong memories of a creative leader among designers and industry members alike. “I think he was known as the footwear king,” said his friend, Tommy Hilfiger to WWD. “He had impeccable taste. But he had a passion and drive unlike any passion and drive I’d ever seen. We'd get into lengthy conversations on shoes and style and fashion and what he would do next. He'd always say, ‘come to my showroom. You have to see this new collection. You can’t believe these boots.’”

“I loved him. We all loved him,” said Stuart Weitzman. “His achievements went beyond our industry. I particularly admire how little credibility he gave to retirement.” Steve Madden, who was considered to be a footwear rival of Camuto, added, “We had a very respectful relationship. He was a shoe god. There is no other way to say. We were competitive, although I would have loved to have collaborated with him. I'm stunned; I can't believe he’s not around. He was a great guy. We were competitors, but he was just awesome. He was just an amazing guy. He was our best; he was the best he was.”

Camuto is survived by his wife Louise and five children.