DEMON AS IT STANDS TODAY IS THE RESULT OF THE REQUALIFICATION OF A FORMER REALITY. IT WAS FOUNDED IN 1963 IN MONTEBELLUNA, ITALY, BY GIROLAMO DEON, WHO STARTED WORKING IN THE SHOEMAKING INDUSTRY AT THE AGE OF 14 YEARS OLD AS A “SCARPER”. THE DEON FAMILY MAINTAINED THE BRAND UNTIL A TEMPORARY BREAK IN 2004.

TODAY, THE PROJECT AIMS TO DEPICT THE JOURNEY OF THE THIRD GENERATION OF THE FAMILY, GUIDED BY THE ART DIRECTION OF ALBERTO DEON, IN EXHUMING THE BRAND AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF CREATIVE ATROPHY. DEMON AS IT STANDS TODAY, SITS AT THE INTERSECTION BETWEEN TRADITIONAL ITALIAN CRAFT CULTURE AND STATE OF THE ART TECHNICAL GARMENTS. THE BRAND’S PROFOUND KNOWLEDGE OF BOTH RAW NATURAL MATERIALS ON THE ONE HAND, AND UP-TO-DATE TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS ON THE OTHER, ALLOWS IT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CRITICAL DISCOURSE BETWEEN FASHION AND TECHNICALITY WHICH IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY NUANCED.

OUR HEADQUARTER, MONTEBELLUNA, SITS AT THE BASE OF THE DOLOMITES MOUNTAINS AND IS HISTORICALLY THE OUTDOOR FOOTWEAR HOTSPOT FOR ITALY AND THE WORLD. IT BOASTS A HIGHLY SPECIALIZED INDUSTRIAL FRAMEWORK, STILL POPULATED BY ARTISANS WHO MASTER THE ART OF SHOEMAKING. FOR DEMON IT IS ESSENTIAL TO RECOVER THIS KNOWLEDGE AND COMBINE IT WITH A CONTEMPORARY SENSITIVITY FOR MATERIALS, DESIGN, AND RESEARCH. THE ESSENCE OF DEMON WAS AND STILL IS PROFOUNDLY ROOTED IN ITS GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT, AS WE AIM TO USE THE RESOURCES WE HAVE AT OUR FINGERTIPS TO REDUCE THE IMPACT WE HAVE ON THIS EARTH.

THE DOLOMITES NOT ONLY SERVE AS AN ETHICAL SOURCE OF INSPIRATION BUT ALSO GUIDE DEMON’S SENSITIVITY FOR DESIGN AND COLOR PALETTES. THEIR MUSCOLAR FORMATIONS INSTILLED THE FASCINATION FOR ARCHEOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS, RAW CUTS, ECCENTRIC SILHOUETTES AND BOLD GRAPHIC APPLICATIONS.

vernacular knowledge of territory

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