English
In 1898, when Salvatore Ferragamo was born, the shoemaker trade was considered the most humble amongst the humble. So it´s not strange to think that in his house they cried out loud when, with just nine years of age, he told his firm intention that he wanted to become a shoemaker. Back then, few could have imagined that this humble boy would become an ambitious businessman as well as an innovative artist. And we must classify him as such, as an artist, because Salvatore Ferragamo lifted the humble trade of shoemaker to the level of quality of art, reaching levels of quality and originality which had never been reached until then.
In his autobiography, published in London in 1957 under the title ´The Shoemaker of Dreams´, the Italian confessed: “I was born to be a shoemaker. I know, I always knew. Remembering now the long education in my life, I see clearly and just how strongly, ruthlessly and inflexible is the passion in me which pushed me further and further down a road full of adversities”. With this dream and just sixteen years of age, Ferragamo went to America. He ended up in Santa Barbara where, just as he got there, the American Film Company ordered him a series of models to be used in the making of films. If the orders of the film companies accumulated in Ferragamo´s workshop, the orders from celebrities and film stars for him to design exclusive, comfortable, luxurious and even extravagant shoes for them weren´t any less.
The success carried on in Hollywood from 1923. At this time he designed round-pointed shoes (baptized as ´French´), impossible platforms, and Roman-style sandals which have got back in fashion recently. THe models that came out of Ferragamo´s workshop were the result of a careful study of the anatomy of the foot and the personality of who was going to wear them.
After the Second World War, in search of a fabrication process which would mechanize the simpler tasks, he arrived in Florence. By then, his clients included the ´crème de la crème´ of the World elite and the film industry. Among his regular clients were Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe or the Duchess of Windsor. The capital of Tuscany seemed to be awaiting him. There he found a girl and got married to her. He set up his family in the villa ´Il Palagio´ and, also bought, in the centre of Florence, the Palazzo Spini Feroni, from where he would direct a workshop of hundreds of workers working in a production chain. Those were the years of the biggest splendor for Ferragamo, when he received, in 1947, the Neiman and Marcus Prize (the Oscars of fashion) for his ´invisible´ shoe.
Although currently the Ferragamo house presents yearly collections with all types of products, it carries on keeping its distinction of luxury in terms of shoe fabrication. Times have changed and the production is focused on the outskirts of the city, while the old workshop of the Palazzo Spini Feroni has become a museum with hundreds of models in a permanent exhibition.
Candela Vizcaíno
When you go out from one of the magnificent apartments in Florence don´t forget to visit the Ferragamo Museum. There, like a star, you´ll also be able to buy the shoes that you want.
Translated by: aleixgwilliam
