FLORENCE — There may be a hall in the brand new exhibition Ferragamo staged here that stands out and hits otherwise than the others: a room displays many, yet only only a small a part of, the 369 patents filed by the brand’s founder Salvatore Ferragamo.

In times when creativity can take a backseat to commercialism and the search for innovation may be relegated to a secondary role, such a display resonates much more loudly and marks one other testament to the pioneering vision of the corporate’s founder, his resourcefulness in times of scarcity, in addition to curiosity and keenness for the shoe craft that marked his life and profession.

All these elements intertwine within the show, which traces the founder’s history through shoes, photographs, sketches, artworks, documents and videos spanning a period that covers his whole life, from his birth in 1898 to his premature death in 1960.

Simply dubbed “Salvatore Ferragamo 1898-1960,” the exhibit opening to public on Friday and running through Nov. 4, 2024, casts a recent light on the founder and his pivotal role not only in fashion but design and culture at-large.

For these reasons the emotion was palpable on Thursday when the Ferragamo members of the family welcomed press and guests to preview the show at Museo Ferragamo, which is positioned in the identical Thirteenth-century Palazzo Spini Feroni that has housed the corporate’s headquarters since 1938.

“This can be a special exhibition for width, depth and sweetness,” said the firm’s chairman Leonardo Ferragamo during his introduction. He was joined by sister Giovanna Gentile Ferragamo and brother Ferruccio, alongside the firm’s chief executive officer Marco Gobbetti and Museo Ferragamo’s director Stefania Ricci.

Ferragamo drew parallels with the primary retrospective the corporate dedicated to the founder, which was staged in 1985 at Palazzo Strozzi, before becoming an itinerant show that touched base on the likes of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London; the Museum Bellerive in Zurich; the Los Angeles County Museum in California; the Sogetsu Kai Foundation in Tokyo and the Museo des Bellas Artes in Mexico City.

Even when the 2 exhibits cover the identical time frame, they differ in perspective and approach. Within the previous show, shoes were displayed chronologically as artworks, with little reference to the creative and social context during which they’d been designed. In the brand new one, creations are presented not only to focus on their aesthetic value but additionally their innovation, correlation to arts and impact on culture.

The chairman moreover recalled that the 1985 show led to the creation of the Ferragamo Archive and consequentially the Museo Ferragamo 10 years later as a location to conserve and promote the heritage of the brand through thematic shows, meetings, publications and workshops, in addition to put it in conversation with contemporary topics sparking recent ideas on creativity, craftsmanship and sustainability.

“Ever since, 35 Ferragamo exhibitions have been staged in Italy and abroad over time, but this has a special meaning,” said Ferragamo.

The chance to commemorate the founder stemmed from the centennial of his opening his first store in Hollywood, often called the Hollywood Boot Shop and regarded the primary real luxury boutique of the brand after Ferragamo opened small shops in his hometown in Bonito, Italy, and in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The 2-storied location stood opposite Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre, which fueled the brand’s reference to the world of cinema. The Egyptian Theatre hosted theatrical performances and Hollywood premieres, including “The Ten Commandments” movie directed by Cecil B. DeMille, who asked Ferragamo to design and make the shoes for the primary characters. From that moment, Ferragamo’s Hollywood experience consisted of constructing shoes for movies and performances on the theater, along with made-to-order creations for personal customers, earning him the nickname of “Shoemaker to the Stars.” 

The shop itself appeared within the 1928 movie “Show People” directed by King Vidor, as documented by a movie clip screened in considered one of the nine thematic area the exhibition is split into.

Dubbed “Hollywood Boot Shop,” the room arrays shoes from Ferragamo’s American years, including those designed for “The Ten Commandments,” calfskin sandals created for the 1927 movie “The King of Kings” and laced shoes with hand-painted heel that Ricci recently found on eBay. It’s a treasured discovery since the insole label exclusively reads “Ferra-Gamo Inc. Florence Hollywood” and features seared emblems of the U.S. and the Kingdom of Italy.

The room is accessible after going through an entry hall dominated by an artwork mixing three different references: Paolo Uccello’s 15^th-century painting “Battaglia di San Romano” showcased at town’s Uffizi Galleries; a picture of the Tuscan countryside, and a chessboard floor evoking the one at Ferragamo’s first shop in Florence within the early ‘30s.

“It’s significant because on the time Ferragamo used that flooring to creatively display his shoes. He was an innovator also in presenting the product,” noted Ricci. She referenced that the Hollywood store was also disruptive for its Renaissance-style interiors and furniture “conceived to tie his shoes with that concept of Italy, its art and culture that Americans loved a lot.”

The exhibition’s entry hall is decked with additional photographs and documents of key moments in Ferragamo’s life, spanning from images of his hometown Bonito to those teaching young apprentices the best way to make shoes within the ‘30s; from his wedding day and receiving the Neiman Marcus Award in 1947 to drawings made by Andy Warhol within the ‘50s.

Further connections with artworks of various eras are explored in an expansive room dedicated to his inventive use of humble materials akin to fish skin, wood, raffia, hemp, cork and even cellophane obtained by twisting candy wrappers — all creatively employed way before upcycling became trendy.

Juxtapositions between shoes and artworks further highlight Ferragamo’s inspirations, with paintings by Sonia Delaunay and Kurt Schwitters flanking patchwork footwear, or a 1938 laced boot with a tip shaped like a rhinoceros horn standing next to the “Histoire Naturelle” artwork by Max Ernst with the identical animal as subject.

The founder’s extensive study of anatomy, foot balance and body weight distribution is explored in one other area showcasing an extract of his personal library, which comprised unexpected tomes. 

“An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” by John Locke that addresses the worth of experience and metaphysical matters stands next to texts on radio and electromagnetic waves or on astronomy, telegraphing the wide scope of Ferragamo’s curiosity. As well as, chalk molds utilized by the founder and his nephew Jerry to perfect fitting also appear within the room, alongside picket shoe lasts of renowned actresses and regular clients akin to Audrey Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich and Bette Davis. 

The museum itinerary continues with a window showcasing eight all-black styles intended to place the accent on the architectural shapes within the founder’s work, which ends up in the room dedicated to patents.

Here, inventions take center stage, akin to the cork wedge heel Ferragamo got here up with in 1937, when economic sanctions imposed on Italy made not possible to import German steel that the founder utilized in shoes to make the metal last under the foot arch. 

Other examples include the long-lasting “Invisible” sandal with the upper manufactured from nylon thread; the 1941 multilayer raised sole; the 1946 patent for a non-slip sole for kids’s shoes that might prevent feet from twisting inward; the 1952 design for a low-cut pump with a high heel during which only the toe and the tip of the heel had a sole, making the shoe flexible; the 1956 cage heels in metal nodding to Art Nouveau, and the shell-shaped sole referencing organic architecture.

“All these patents are the final word testimony to his ingeniousness,” said Davide Rampello, creative director of the Rampello & Partners studio that created a video installation for the exhibit. “For me we want so as to add to Ferragamo’s profile that he has been considered one of the protagonists of Italian design, similar to Gio Ponti and Carlo Mollino… He’s been rather more of what now we have defined him to this point, as he really began that journey of Italian design.”

Rampello’s studio developed 4 short documentaries on craftsmanship which might be screened in a room spotlighting a novel piece within the Ferragamo archives: the 18-karat gold sandal the founder created in 1956 for an unnamed American customer and that cost $1,000 on the time.

Inspired by the Italian goldsmith tradition and artworks of the 16^th century, Ferragamo patented a posh construction method for the only real and heel in metal, which, despite being rigid, may very well be as comfortable as a leather shoe, while allowing wealthy embellishments via refined engraving and chiseling carried out by Florentine goldsmiths. Incidentally, current creative director Maximilian Davis included a rendition of the style within the brand’s fall 2023 collection.

An alcove decked in multicolors further celebrates Ferragamo’s exuberant ethos, spotlighting the colourful hues, patchworks and optical effects the founder utilized in his creations and that marked a disruptive approach in times where footwear mainly got here in classic tones. 

The ultimate room of the show highlights the reference to movie stars, aristocrats and international jet-setters. Standout pieces include an array of the signature four-inch-heeled pumps designed for Marilyn Monroe, akin to the 1960 sparkly red ones that Davis reprised in pants form in his debut collection for the brand; the long-lasting Rainbow sandal designed for Judy Garland; flats created for Audrey Hepburn and Georgia O’Keeffe; wedges made for Greta Garbo and Peggy Guggenheim; the 1957 Damigella brocade boots, and 1955 Tavernelle lace and satin sling-backs created for Sophia Loren and Anna Magnani, respectively.

But the corporate’s current chairman actually praised other “two extraordinary women” on Thursday.

“My mother, who felt a really strong vocation to make her six children aware of all of the history, values and anecdotes that my father cultivated and picked up in his life, in addition to advocate of the need to create an archive and an exhibition on her husband,” said Ferragamo of Wanda Ferragamo. “After which my sister Fiamma, who picked up this thought and made it her own, taking the reins with courage and a rare vision, giving a profoundly cultural and historical angle to that project.

“I think my father’s story is a pillar within the history of fashion and definitely a rare privilege now we have experienced as a family. With my mother now we have formed a rare team for a few years to be able to carry forward his dreams… and all these values have permeated the corporate, which has a incredible human capital… I think that today greater than ever these values ​​are standing out,” he continued.

The chairman moreover acknowledged the brand new creative direction of the brand under Davis, “who has understood the artistic richness of Florence and took it as a source of inspiration to design the Ferragamo sort of the long run, extracting from our history those values ​​that he feels to be very strong: elegance, femininity, qualitative excellence, innovation and calculated experimentation — geared toward strengthening this Ferragamo style over time.

“I think that my father could be blissful and pleased with all this and, above all, of the good effort we’re making today,” concluded Ferragamo.