D.A.T.E.

D.A.T.E. was founded in Florence in 2005 by four friends - Damiano Innocenti, Alessandro Zanobini, Tommaso Santoni and Emiliano Paci - whose first initials spell out the brand's name. The group met in London while dissatisfied with their existing careers and decided to design their own sneaker line, drawing on early-1970s British style for their debut collection. That first season sold fewer than 700 pairs, which pushed the founders to take manufacturing in-house rather than abandon the project, using leather and fabric from established Italian tanneries and weavers. Every pair is handmade in Italy, and the brand has since introduced recurring models such as the Hill Low, Fuga, Court and Sonica lines. D.A.T.E. now operates monobrand stores in Florence, Rome and Milan and is distributed through more than 900 points of sale worldwide, with a particularly strong presence in Japan.