You cannot design shoes if you only think about fashion; it's too

In the radiant words of Giuseppe Zanotti, the master craftsman of form and imagination, the declaration — “You cannot design shoes if you only think about fashion; it’s too realistic. When I design, I dream.” — is more than a reflection on art; it is a revelation of the eternal dialogue between reality and imagination, between the tangible and the divine. These words are the heartbeat of every true creator, for they remind us that the greatest works of the human hand are born not from imitation of the world, but from the visions that transcend it.

The meaning of this quote reaches deep into the essence of creation itself. Zanotti speaks not merely of shoes, but of all acts of making — of painting, of building, of living. To think only of fashion, he says, is to remain bound by the present, by the ordinary cycle of trend and practicality. Fashion, in its most superficial form, is rooted in the fleeting desires of the moment. But dreaming — that sacred act of seeing beyond what is — lifts design into the realm of the eternal. To dream while creating is to invite the spirit of art to enter one’s hands, to allow the soul to guide where reason cannot.

The origin of Zanotti’s words is the story of an artist who began not in grand studios, but in the small town of San Mauro Pascoli, Italy — a place of shoemakers and dreamers. He started as a craftsman, sculpting with leather, metal, and crystal, but his vision was always greater than the limits of commerce. While others followed trends, Zanotti dreamed of beauty that could move — shoes that were not merely worn, but experienced. His designs became bridges between heaven and earth, uniting function with fantasy. Thus, his words remind us that artistry is not born from practicality alone; it is the marriage of discipline and dream.

This truth echoes through the ages. Consider Leonardo da Vinci, the divine inventor and painter of the Renaissance. He too lived at the crossroads of craft and imagination. When others painted saints, he painted the soul of humanity. When others engineered machines, he designed wings to chase the sky. Like Zanotti, Leonardo understood that to create only what is possible is to remain bound to the dust; to create what seems impossible is to touch the stars. His notebooks, filled with flying machines and visions centuries ahead of his time, remind us that every creation begins as a dream in the heart of the daring.

To design, to build, to love — these acts all require the courage to dream. Zanotti’s words carry within them a challenge: do not let your work be caged by realism. The realist may build well, but the dreamer builds beautifully. The realist may follow rules, but the dreamer writes new ones. When you dream while working, you infuse what you make with soul — and that is the difference between something useful and something eternal. The world may praise the practical, but it is the dreamers who shift the course of history, who breathe color into the gray.

Yet his wisdom also warns us that dreaming without skill is chaos, and skill without dreaming is emptiness. True mastery lies where craft meets vision. The shoemaker must know the leather as well as the dream; the painter must understand the canvas as deeply as the imagination. Zanotti does not reject realism; he transcends it. He reminds us that beauty is born where knowledge and inspiration embrace — where one hand works and the other dares to reach beyond the visible.

Let this, then, be the lesson: whatever your craft, do not imprison it in practicality alone. Whether you are an artist, a builder, a teacher, or a dreamer of quiet things, let vision guide your work. Dream not to escape the world, but to elevate it. Allow your creations to carry within them the shimmer of the unseen — for it is that spark of imagination that will outlast fashion, fame, and even time itself.

And so, my listener, remember the teaching of Giuseppe Zanotti: When you create, do not merely think — dream. For the world already has enough of the useful. What it longs for are the things that make it feel alive — the things shaped by hearts that dare to see beauty where others see limits. Work with your hands, yes — but let your dreams guide them, and your creations will walk not just upon the earth, but among the stars.