Salvatore Ferragamo (5 June 1898 – 7 August 1960) was an Italian shoe

designer A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans. In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...

and the founder of

luxury goods In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good for which demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a greater proportion of overall spending. Luxury goods are in contrast to n ...

high-end retailer

Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., rebranded in September 2022 as Ferragamo, () is an Italian luxury goods company headquartered in Florence. It specializes in designing and manufacturing footwear and leather goods, which together account for over 86% o ...

An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. In addition to experimenting with materials including

kangaroo Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

, and fish skin, Ferragamo drew on historic inspiration for his shoes.

Early life

Salvatore (registered as "Salvadore") Ferragamo was born in 1898 to a poor family in Bonito,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, near

Avellino Avellino () is a town and ''comune'', capital of the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. ...

, the eleventh of fourteen children of Antonio Ferragamo and Mariantonia Ferragamo (both had the same surname, which often happened in smaller Italian towns). After making his first pair of shoes for himself, a pair of high heels, at age nine (and his sisters to wear at their

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

), young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling. Famiglia Ferragamo

Career

After studying

shoemaking Shoemaking is the process of making footwear. Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

for a year, Ferragamo opened a small store based in his parents' home. In 1915, he emigrated to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where one of his brothers worked in a cowboy boot factory. After a brief stint at the factory, Ferragamo convinced his brothers to move to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. It was there that Ferragamo found success, initially opening a shop for repair and

made-to-measure Made-to-measure (MTM) typically refers to custom clothing that is cut and sewn using a standard-sized base pattern. Suits and sport coats are the most common garments made-to-measure. The fit of a made-to-measure garment is expected to be superio ...

shoes, leading to a long period of designing footwear for the cinema. Reluctant to accept that his shoes could be beautiful but uncomfortable to wear, he studied

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

. After spending thirteen years in the US, Ferragamo returned to Italy in 1927, settling in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. He began to fashion shoes for prominent women, including the Maharani of Cooch Behar,

Eva Perón María Eva Duarte de Perón (; ; 7 May 1919 – 26 July 1952), better known as just Eva Perón or by the nickname Evita (), was an Argentine politician, activist, actress, and philanthropist who served as First Lady of Argentina from June 19 ...

and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

. He opened a workshop in the Via Mannelli, experimenting with design, while applying for patents for his innovations. He filed for

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

in 1933 due to bad management and economic pressure, but was able to expand his operations in the 1950s, including a workforce of 700 artisans who made 350 pairs of shoes per day, by hand. "The Rainbow" was created by Salvatore Ferragamo in 1938 and was the first instance of the

platform shoe Platform shoes are shoes, boots, or sandals with an obvious thick sole, usually in the range of . Platform shoes may also be high heels, in which case the heel is raised significantly higher than the ball of the foot. Extreme heights, of bo ...

returning in modern days in the West. The platform sandal was designed for American singer and actress

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. The shoe was a tribute to Garland's signature song " Over the Rainbow" performed in '' The Wizard of Oz'' (1939) feature film. The shoe was crafted using shaped slabs of

cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

covered in

suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was fir ...

with gold

kidskin Kidskin or kid leather is a type of soft, thin leather that is traditionally used for gloves (hence the phrase ' kid gloves,' used since at least 1888 as a metaphor for careful handling). It is widely used for other fashion purposes such as footwea ...

straps. He was inspired to experiment with new materials to find those not rationed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Death and legacy

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. At his death, his wife Wanda and later their six children ( Fiamma, Giovanna, Fulvia, Ferruccio, Massimo and Leonardo) ran the company. His most famous invention is arguably the "Cage heel". Fiamma (Salvatore's eldest daughter who died in 1998) came up with the "Vara pumps" in 1978. A museum dedicated to Ferragamo's life and work opened in the

Palazzo Spini Feroni Palazzo Spini Ferroni is a large Gothic palace located along Via de' Tornabuoni at the corner of Piazza Santa Trinita, in central Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy. It stands across from the church of Santa Trinita. History The palace was comm ...

in 1995. The palazzo had been bought by Ferragamo in the 1930s. In March 2013, Ferragamo's fashion house,

, established the Ferragamo Foundation in Florence. The foundation was formed to cultivate young

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

s, based on the ideas of Salvatore Ferragamo.

Present day

The company is owned by the Ferragamo family, which in November 2006 included Salvatore's widow Wanda, five children, 23 grandchildren and other relatives. There is a rule that only three members of the family can work at the company, prompting fierce competition.

Family

* Wanda Ferragamo Miletti led the group since 1960, when her husband and founder of the company, Salvatore, died. She was honorary chairman until her death in 2018. * Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the company * Giovanna Gentile-Ferragamo, vice president of Salvatore Ferragamo SpA * Leonardo Ferragamo, since 2000, has been the Director of Salvatore Ferragamo SpA, Ferragamo Finanziaria; Executive Vice President of the Fondazione Ferragamo. * Massimo Ferragamo, Chairman of Ferragamo USA. * Fulvia Visconti-Ferragamo, who died in March 2018, ran the fashion label's silk accessories division beginning in the 1970s. She was the Deputy Chairwoman of Ferragamo Finanziaria SpA. * Fiamma Ferragamo di San Giuliano, who died in 1998, was involved in the creation of some of the brand's products, such as Vara shoe and the Gancino. * James Ferragamo, Women's and Men's Shoes and Leather Goods Division Director for the Salvatore Ferragamo Group * Angelica Visconti

Ruspoli The House of Ruspoli is historically one of the great aristocratic families of Rome, but is originally from Florence. Following World War II and the fall of Fascism, the newly established Italian Republic officially abolished titles and hereditary ...

, South Europe Director * Diego Paternò di San Giuliano coordinates the digital activities of the brand.

References

External links

*
Official website of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferragamo, Salvatore 1898 births 1960 deaths Fashion designers from Florence Italian billionaires Shoe designers Altagamma members People from the Province of Avellino University of Southern California alumni Salvatore Ferragamo 20th-century Italian businesspeople