OMNIA
INSOMNIA
THE SOLE OF THINGS: SOCIAL AWARENESS AND SUCCESS THROUGH FOOTWEAR Courtesy of Fernando Rojo
Clockwise from left: Fernando Rojo, C’18; Rojo works with his team of local artisans in Peru to design and manufacture sneakers using traditional methods; a pair of PATOS sneakers in production.
During a trip to visit family in Argentina, Fernando Rojo, C’18, met a shoemaker and designer named Rafael at an artisan fair. Then a freshman, Rojo teamed up with Rafael to create a line of shoes that used traditional Peruvian textiles. PATOS Shoes now employs a dozen
Peruvian artisans selling products in 15 countries and includes a partnership with J.Crew. PATOS aims to empower artisans across Latin America through its network, allowing them to work under fair conditions and maintain their centuries-old handcrafting techniques while creating a platform for their products to enter the international markets. Here, Rojo tells the story of why PATOS is different from other brands and how Penn helped get him where he is.
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The idea for PATOS came up when I was actually visiting my grandparents back home in Argentina. I was walking through the streets of Belgrano, the neighborhood where my family lives, and I came across this artisan fair in a flea market where all these local artisans were selling their handcrafted products. There was one stand that completely stood out to me. This man named Rafael was selling amazing shoes with these incredible, bright patterns on them. There was a line of tourists coming and I immediately felt like I had to work with him somehow. So I just asked him if I could buy some and take them in a suitcase and bring them home, and that’s exactly what I did, and that’s where PATOS began. We sell handcrafted, authentic footwear made by Latin American artisans. Every single pair is made by hand using authentic Latin American textiles that are sourced from locals around Peruvian villages.
There’s no question that historically a lot of brands have been able to exploit the labor in Latin America and the talent of the workers there, and a big part of PATOS is tackling that. You know, our whole dynamic of how we collaborate is very familial. Something that’s really unique about getting to work with a company like this is that it’s more than just making a product and selling it. It’s creating family connections across the world both for me and for my customers. Without a doubt Penn’s ecosystem for entrepreneurship is spread across the way that the school works. You know, I study math and economics and the fact that everyone’s working to create something better is really amazing, and the people that I’ve met studying in my major and minor have always shared these passions. So I think the fact that I’ve been able to be here and push this idea has really been phenomenal for me.
