The Life of Salvatore Ferragamo
In his quest for the 'perfect-fitting' shoe Ferragamo employed a variety of unusual materials, seeking for a balance between beauty and comfort in his designs. In connection to the often-repeated phrase 'beauty is pain', the shoemakers pursuit is most likely appreciated by high-heel wearers worldwide!
His experimental approach is epitomised in the mixed media of his hand-made products, ranging from traditional leather to plastic, fishskin, cellophane, straw and raffia. The use of these eclectic materials further elevates Ferragamo's position in the history of design.
The contrasting styles of these Ferragamo shoes are the result of the designer's diverse use of materials.
Each medium signifies the artist's cutting-edge response to halted trade relations between America and Italy during the second-world war, which prohibited the importation of leather and steel (fundamental elements of the modern-day shoe). Having returned to his native country in 1923, opening the Florentine 'Hollywood Boot Shop', Ferragamo embarked on a rewarding career that would deem him 'a symbol of Italy's reconstruction through design and production' following the fall of Nazi occupation in Italy. By the time of his death in 1960, Ferragamo had designed shoes for actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, as well as creating iconic designs for cinema and film.
Ferragamo's success secured him a prestigious Hollywood clientele. In the 1930s he was also commissioned to design cork wedges for the princess of India!
The Ferragamo Museum's current exhibition 'The Amazing Shoemaker - Fairy Tales and Legends about Shoemakers' stretches beyond the notion of contemporary fashion as a commercial business by focusing upon design as a manifestation of artistic expression. Drawing upon music, literature, art, film and fashion design, the exhibition succeeds in presenting shoes from alternative angles, whilst offering viewers a fulfilling visual experience.
The exhibition delves into the imaginative world beyond the physical shoe, highlighting similarities between contemporary design and ancient myth.
This eery room provided the setting for a 22 minute film entitled 'White Shoe' written and directed by Mauro Borrelli under the artistic supervision of Rich Heinrichs. This is a heartwarming tale based upon the early life of Ferragamo, taken from his 1957 autobiography 'Shoemaker of Dreams'. The dramatic and otherworldly atmosphere of the film is inspired by 1920s German Expressionist cinema. Here the tyrannical master of the workshop is presented in a grotesque, devilish guise, whilst the workshop itself acts as a bleak prison.
The young Ferragamo plays the character of a poor worker who secretly wishes to produce a pair of shoes for the bare-footed flower girl so cruelly dismissed by his master. Eventually, and in monumental style, Ferragamo escapes his earthly entrapment through the infinite creativity of his imagination. Here, the 'White Shoes' act as an explicit metaphor of freedom and purity.
Showcasing the work of several artists, the exhibition also presents the work of Graphic Novelist Frank Espinosa who illustrates the life of Salvatore Ferragamo. Espinosa's art acts as a tribute to Ferragamo's artistic innovation, authentic design processes and consequent impact on the world of fashion and cultural history.
By far the most disturbing element of this fantasy exhibition resided in the room dedicated to the fairytale "Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen. As is widely known, Andersen's fables possess heavily moralising, if not zealous, overtones and act as severe warnings to misbehaving children! This particular story focuses upon the vain and conceited child Karen who would rather wear her beautiful Red Shoes than attend church or care for her sick adoptive mother. At a party a soldier remarks on how lovely her dancing shoes are, laying a curse on the girl who subsequently cannot stop dancing. She dances incessantly, unable to remove her shoes or redeem her sins because of this self-induced impairment.
Eventually Karen begs an executioner to chop off her dancing-feet and replace them with wood, but these amputated feet continue to haunt her wherever she goes. In the end, the girl finds solace in religion and after heavily repenting, is freed from her torture by an angel who invites her soul to heaven.
Being in a room filled with a film-projection of this gruesome tale left me feeling quite perturbed, although I believe this was the desired effect!
So as not to end this post on a rather disturbing note, you may recall the famous "Puss in Boots" who also features in this exhibition on the basis of his impeccable wardrobe!
- Ellie Porter, HOA Intern
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| Ferragamo's experiments with "bits of Sardinian cork" led to the birth of the wedge, a hall-mark of 40s fashion. This innovative shoe was created by the designer in 1938. |
The contrasting styles of these Ferragamo shoes are the result of the designer's diverse use of materials.
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| Shoe made of grass from the Philippines, 1936-1938. |
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| 18kt gold sandal! 1955-1956. |
Each medium signifies the artist's cutting-edge response to halted trade relations between America and Italy during the second-world war, which prohibited the importation of leather and steel (fundamental elements of the modern-day shoe). Having returned to his native country in 1923, opening the Florentine 'Hollywood Boot Shop', Ferragamo embarked on a rewarding career that would deem him 'a symbol of Italy's reconstruction through design and production' following the fall of Nazi occupation in Italy. By the time of his death in 1960, Ferragamo had designed shoes for actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, as well as creating iconic designs for cinema and film.
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| Audrey Hepburn and Salvatore Ferragamo |
Ferragamo's success secured him a prestigious Hollywood clientele. In the 1930s he was also commissioned to design cork wedges for the princess of India!
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| Apparently Marilyn Monroe owned at least 40 pairs of Ferragamo stiletto's! |
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| These re-inforced heels were a central element of Marilyn's personal aesthetic and closely correspond to Dorothy's ruby slippers, which were also designed by Ferragamo. |
'The Amazing Shoemaker - Fairy Tales and Legends about Shoemakers' (Running until March 2013).
The Ferragamo Museum's current exhibition 'The Amazing Shoemaker - Fairy Tales and Legends about Shoemakers' stretches beyond the notion of contemporary fashion as a commercial business by focusing upon design as a manifestation of artistic expression. Drawing upon music, literature, art, film and fashion design, the exhibition succeeds in presenting shoes from alternative angles, whilst offering viewers a fulfilling visual experience.
The exhibition delves into the imaginative world beyond the physical shoe, highlighting similarities between contemporary design and ancient myth.
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| Annette Lemieux, Messenger, 2006. Skydiver's leather boots and feathers. |
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| Botticelli, Mercury from La Primavera, 1477-1482. |
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| Giambologna, Mercury, bronze statuette, 1564-1580, Bargello Museum. |
The young Ferragamo plays the character of a poor worker who secretly wishes to produce a pair of shoes for the bare-footed flower girl so cruelly dismissed by his master. Eventually, and in monumental style, Ferragamo escapes his earthly entrapment through the infinite creativity of his imagination. Here, the 'White Shoes' act as an explicit metaphor of freedom and purity.
Showcasing the work of several artists, the exhibition also presents the work of Graphic Novelist Frank Espinosa who illustrates the life of Salvatore Ferragamo. Espinosa's art acts as a tribute to Ferragamo's artistic innovation, authentic design processes and consequent impact on the world of fashion and cultural history.
By far the most disturbing element of this fantasy exhibition resided in the room dedicated to the fairytale "Red Shoes" by Hans Christian Andersen. As is widely known, Andersen's fables possess heavily moralising, if not zealous, overtones and act as severe warnings to misbehaving children! This particular story focuses upon the vain and conceited child Karen who would rather wear her beautiful Red Shoes than attend church or care for her sick adoptive mother. At a party a soldier remarks on how lovely her dancing shoes are, laying a curse on the girl who subsequently cannot stop dancing. She dances incessantly, unable to remove her shoes or redeem her sins because of this self-induced impairment.
Eventually Karen begs an executioner to chop off her dancing-feet and replace them with wood, but these amputated feet continue to haunt her wherever she goes. In the end, the girl finds solace in religion and after heavily repenting, is freed from her torture by an angel who invites her soul to heaven.
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| Jan Švankmajer, Red Shoes, 2013, Prague. |
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| Jan Švankmajer, Eva's Shoes Tribute to Meret Oppenheim, 2008, Prague. |
Being in a room filled with a film-projection of this gruesome tale left me feeling quite perturbed, although I believe this was the desired effect!
So as not to end this post on a rather disturbing note, you may recall the famous "Puss in Boots" who also features in this exhibition on the basis of his impeccable wardrobe!
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| French Manufacture, Post boy Boots, 19th century, leather, wrought iron. |
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| Bruno Roghi detto Nonno Ebe, Il Gatto con gli Stivali, Illustrazioni di Giovanni Galbiati, Carroccio, Milano, 1935. |
- Ellie Porter, HOA Intern
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