On one hand sport, on the other glamour. Reconciling the two worlds seemed at first like an almost impossible task, yet, thirty years later, Ruco Line can boast that they have succeeded. Santo Domingo, 1985, Marco Santucci – the future founder and CEO of the brand – is a young landlord, and every day a lady from the Haitian neighborhood of the capital passes by Marco’s inn to offer to sell him her products: traditional colorful shoes that she crochets herself, intertwining them with a fishing needle. 5 dollars per pair, a sum that Marco regularly spends, fascinated by the efforts and creativity of that lady. Back in Italy, Marco collected over three hundred pairs of shoes, which he brought with him and sold in the blink of an eye within his circle of acquaintances: it was the beginning of an unpredictable, extraordinary adventure.

To reproduce the essence of the crocheted shoes, Daniela, a student of architecture and life companion, takes care of it, inspiring the signature of the first creations “Buon Ruco,” the nickname she calls Marco. It is at this stage that Daniela discovers her own talent: a formidable intuition and spontaneous creativity, which will lead her to become the creative soul of the Ruco Line brand. In 1990, Marco buys a former 19th-century tobacco factory in Mugnano, just outside Perugia, and the company is born. The year 1992 marks the milestone of the first important achievement: Daniela creates what will become a multi-year bestseller: the model 200. It is the first sneaker with a heel. The rest is recent history.

Today, thirty years later, the brand celebrates its anniversary with a capsule collection that includes nine leather models, both for him and her, all studded with magical and very bright Swarovski crystal studs, as well as metal lettering details. Additionally, inside the shoes, there is a dedicated label celebrating the thirty years of the brand’s history.