Salvatore Ferragamo (1898 –1960) was an Italian shoe designer and the founder of luxury goods high-end retailer Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. An innovative shoe designer, Salvatore Ferragamo established a reputation in the 1930s. In addition to experimenting with alternative materials such as fish skin, Ferragamo drew on historic inspiration for his shoes.
Salvatore (registered as "Salvadore") Ferragamo was born to a poor family in Bonito, in the Campania region of Italy, near Avellino, the eleventh of fourteen children of Antonio Ferragamo and Mariantonia Ferragamo (both had the same surname). 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), young Salvatore decided that he had found his calling.
After studying shoemaking in Naples for a year, fourteen year old Ferragamo opened a small store based in his parents' home. In 1915, he emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts, 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, first Santa Barbara then Hollywood. It was there that Ferragamo found success, initially opening a shop for repair and made-to-measure 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 at the University of Southern California.
After spending thirteen years in the US, Ferragamo, now thirty-three returned to Italy in 1927, settling in Florence. He began to fashion shoes for prominent women, including the Maharani of Cooch Behar, Eva Perón and Marilyn Monroe. He opened a workshop in the Via Mannelli, experimenting with design, while applying for patents for his innovations. He filed for bankruptcy 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 returning in modern days in the West. The platform sandal was designed for American singer and actress Judy Garland. The shoe was a tribute to Garland's signature song "Over the Rainbow" performed in The Wizard of Oz feature film. The shoe was crafted using shaped slabs of cork covered in suede with gold kidskin straps. He was inspired to experiment with new materials to find those not rationed during World War II.
Salvatore Ferragamo died 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) came up with the "Vara pumps" in 1978.
A museum dedicated to Ferragamo's life and work opened in the Palazzo Spini Feroni in 1995. The palazzo had been bought by Ferragamo in the 1930s.
In March 2013, Ferragamo's fashion house, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A., established the Ferragamo Foundation in Florence. The foundation was formed to cultivate young fashion designers, 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.
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| Salvatore Ferragamo |
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| Ferragamo's family |
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| Shoemaker of dreams |
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| Shoemaker of dreams |
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| Shoemaker of dreams |
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| Prototype for a laced shoe, circa 1930 |
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| Sandal prototype, circa 1930 |
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| The Lottie, circa 1930 |
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| Arcobaleno, circa 1935 |
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| Iride, circa 1936 |
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| Sandal prototype, circa 1938 |
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| Rainbow wedge sandal, circa 1938 |
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| circa 1938 |
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circa 1940
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circa 1940
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| circa 1943 |
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| circa 1947 |
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| Dogia, circa 1949 |
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| Spaghetti Sandal, circa 1951 |
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| circa 1951 |
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| Darana, circa 1953 |
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| circa 1953 |
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| Rosa, circa 1956 |
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| Kiki model, circa 1959 |
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| Crocodile pump, circa 1959-60 |
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| Shoe designed for Audrey Hepburn |
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Shoe designed for Audrey Hepburn
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Shoe designed for Marilyn Monroe
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Shoe designed for Marilyn Monroe
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| Shoe designed for Mary Pickford |
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| Shoe designed for Mary Pickford |
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| Shoe designed for Nicole Kidman |
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| Shoe designed for Nicole Kidman |
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| Shoe designed for Sofia Loren |
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