Notable Clients
Beatle boots originated at Anello & Davide in the early 1960s. When John Lennon and Paul McCartney of The Beatles saw Chelsea boots in the shop, they commissioned four pairs with Cuban heels. This modified version of a Chelsea boot is now known as a Beatles boot.
Anello & Davide footwear is frequently mentioned in passing in theatrical memoirs and biographies of the mid-20th century London scene. The Beatle boots had a particular mystique, with Mark Feld (later Marc Bolan) purchasing his first pair from Anello & Davide after a London-wide search for the perfect footwear to complete his Mod outfit. Barbara Orbison, the widow of the singer Roy Orbison, remembered how when she met her future husband in 1968, his boots were always made by Anello & Davide.
In addition to the Beatles, Anello & Davide list Marilyn Monroe, Peter Ustinov, Orson Welles, Margaret Rutherford, Jane Fonda and David Niven as having been amongst their celebrity customers. They have also provided footwear to stage musicals such as Cats and Mamma Mia and to films including the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises.
Anello & Davide are occasionally credited as the shoemakers who made the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz. This is not the case, as surviving shoes for the 1939 film are clearly labelled as being from the Innes Shoe Company in Los Angeles. On their website, Anello & Davide simply state they have been "called upon to create unforgettable cinema icons - such as Dorothy's unforgettable red slippers form The Wizard of Oz.". It is more probable that the firm provided the plain red leather shoes with Louis heels that were customised for the 1985 film Return To Oz, or at the very least, made replicas for stage productions.
Read more about this topic: Anello & Davide, Company History
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