Zanotti was born in San Mauro Pascoli, a village close to Rimini, Italy. In the 1980s, he worked as a DJ before becoming the renowned shoemaker he is today.He started his fashion career in the 1980s. In the beginning, he started working locally with small craftsmen and then as a freelance designer working with fashion maisons like Valentino, Thierry Mugler, Missoni, Dior, Roberto Cavalli, and Gianfranco Ferr?.In 1994, Zanotti took over a small shoemaking company, the Vicini shoe factory, and devoted his time to designing and manufacturing his own shoes.With a small workshop employing 15 people, including a jeweler, a heel and tree expert and an embroiderer, he started work on his first collection. Today, more than 350 skilled people work at his company, which manufactures over 400,000 pairs of luxury Men and women\'s shoes.In 2000, Zanotti opened his first boutique in Milan. Further boutiques were opened in New York City, Paris, London, Moscow, Dubai, San Francisco, Stockholm, etc., reaching fifty stores globally.[2] He has designed shoes for such brands as Balmain, Proenza Schouler, Thakoon Panichgul, Christopher Kane, Delfina Delettrez, and Vera Wang.He has been nominated \"Designer of the Year\" three times (2000, 2007, and 2009) by Fairchild and won the \"Prix d\'Excellence de la Mode\" for best footwear collection by Marie Claire International in 2010.