Cleo – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary Of A Style Icon

A true icon of style and glamour, the Cleo sandal celebrates 50 years of success, desirability, and uniqueness. Throughout its history spanning nearly nine decades, Maison Rene Caovilla has designed shoes that are true works of art and excellence, their story deeply intertwined with Venice, its history, arts, creativity, and lifestyle. The most iconic of them all is the Cleo designed by René Caovilla in 1973. “During a trip to Naples, I was bewitched by a snake-shaped Roman bracelet from the Ist century BC that was a symbol of nobility on display at the Archaeological Museum,” recalls René Caovilla. “So, I imagined adapting it to wrap around the ankle elegantly becoming our emblem of distinctiveness.” Thus, the Cleo was born. This timeless signature embodies the two defining traits of the house’s aesthetic: the snake motif and lavish embellishments that are painstakingly applied by hand. A genuine cult item and a celebrity favorite, Cleo was displayed at the MoMA in New York in 1975, an achievement that turned it into a modern art icon. The red-carpet desirability of Cleo is renowned across the globe, all wooed by the hypnotic allure of this icon ready to step into the next 50 years.