With a new retrospective, the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence looks at the life and vision of the Italian shoemaker.
The commemorative exhibition highlights the founder’s life 100 years after the first Salvatore Ferragamo store opened in Hollywood, the Italian luxury brand announced last week.
Ferragamo opened a leather goods store in his hometown of Bonito, Italy in 1912. Eleven years later he emigrated to the USA and earned the name ‘Shoemaker to the Stars’ by making shoes for Joan Crawford and Gloria Swanson. After his death in 1960, his widow and her six children took over family business.
There was already a retrospective in honor of Ferragamo in 1985, which was followed by the founding of the museum by the Ferragamo family in 1995. The museum is located in Florence, the brand’s hometown. The new exhibition illustrates the shoemaker’s ideas and creations in a collection of documents, objects, photos and videos.
The exhibition is divided into six sections: The first focuses on Ferragamo’s life and tells the man’s biographical story. The second part is about his time in Hollywood. The remaining parts of the retrospective deal with the craftsmanship behind the shoes and highlight aspects such as materials, colors, shapes and patents. Finally, the final section of the exhibition, entitled ‘Shoes and Famous Feet’, establishes the connection between the shoemaker’s designs and those who wore them.
The new exhibition can be viewed at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence until November 24, 2024.