Salvatore Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo (1898 - 1960) was one of the most influential footwear designers of the 20th century, providing Hollywood's glitterati with unique hand-made designs and spawning an emporium of luxury consumer goods for men and women, with stores in some of the most important cities of the world. Ferragamo started his career in California during the 1920s, initially creating specific designs for Hollywood productions. One of his most celebrated pieces are Dorothy's ruby slippers for the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz.
Salvatore Ferragamo was born in 1898 in Bonito, near Naples, Italy. After making his first pair of shoes at age nine, for her sister to wear on her confirmation, young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling. After studying shoemaking in Naples for a year, Ferragamo opened a small store based in his parent's home. In 1914, Salvatore emigrated to Boston, where one of his brothers worked in a cowboy boot factory. After a brief stint at the factory, Salvatore convinced his brothers to move to California, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. It was here that Ferragamo found success, initially opening a shop for repair and made-to-measure shoes, which soon became prized items among celebrities of the day, leading to a long period of designing footwear for the cinema.
After spending thirteen years in the United States, Ferragamo returned to Italy in 1927, this time settling in Florence. In 1929 Ferragamo opened a workshop in the Via Manelli, concentrating his efforts in experimenting with design, applying for patents for ornamental and utility models and some related inventions. Forced to file for bankruptcy in 1933 due to bad management and economic pressures, Ferragamo nonetheless expanded his operation during the 1950 to a workforce of around 700 expert artisans that produced 350 pairs of hand-made shoes a day.
Ferragamo was always recognized as a visionary, and his designs ranged from the strikingly bizarre objet d'art to the traditionally elegant, often serving as the main inspiration to other footwear designers of his time and beyond. Salvatore Ferragamo died in 1960 at the age of 62, but his name lives on as an international company, which has expanded its operations to include luxury shoes, bags, eyewear, silk accessories, watches, perfumes and a ready to wear clothing line. Today, his two sons, James and Salvatore, run the Ferragamo company.
The Salvatore Ferragamo Museum was opened in 1995 at the second floor of the Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence, Italy, to display part of the collection of revolutionary designs by Ferragamo.