Salvatore Ferragamo

Salvatore Ferragamo: Cinderella's Shoemaker

"New fashion begins in the mind of the designer," Salvatore Ferragamo once said. The great shoe designer put this into practice during the course of his very successful and innovative life.

Born in the tiny village of Bonito, near Naples, in 1898, he was the eleventh of fourteen children. The young and ambitious Salvatore came from a very poor family who couldn't even afford to buy shoes for his sister's important First Communion. At the age of nine he made their shoes and then decided to study shoemaking for a year.

At the young age of fourteen he opened his first shoe shop in his parent's house, but he decided to go to America, where there were more opportunities, to join his brothers in Boston. Soon after he went to California where his repair and specially made shoe shop in Hollywood became famous, and he began to make shoes for the American Film Company.

As he thought that shoes should not only be lovely to look at but comfortable as well, he studied anatomy in the United States, and then designed the steel arch support so that the shoes could give better support to the feet and the body.

His other inventions included wedge and the famous stiletto heel, which was worn by Marilyn Monroe. After he returned to Italy in 1927 there was a shortage of raw materials so he used leather substitutes, such as sewing the corks of wine bottles together to make heels which were then lined with leather to make his famous cork wedge. He also used bakelite and wooden soles. Some of his shoes were decorated with tiny glass mirrors. Some were painted all different colors. The influences he used ranged from wrought iron balconies to small mosaics in Italian palaces to cubism and the fashionable Art Deco. He also patented his many designs.

The 'invisible'shoes which featured a thin nylon strand wound around the sole were another of his famous inventions. These won him the Nieman Marcus Prize in Dallas in 1947, considered the 'Oscar'of the fashion world.

Forced to file for bankruptcy in 1933, he overcame this and he once again opened his store in Florence where his shoes were made by 700 expert shoemakers. They made 350 pairs a day, all by hand.

Although Salvatore died at only 62, the famous House of Ferragamo is now a huge business, which sells many other goods, such as beautiful gloves, scarves, soft leather, and a large range of clothes, as well as shoes. Its centre is still the medieval Spini Ferroni building in Florence.

Celebrities still favor Ferragamo goods. Mel Gibson, Judy Dench, Al Pacino have all worn them. Madonna loves their shoes. The list is endless.

Drew Barrymore's beautiful slippers in Ever After, based on the story of Cinderella, were hand-made especially by the company. These shoes are made of satin covered with Indian muslin and woven with silver thread, and have a transparent plexiglass heel with a shimmering crystal effect, decorated with silver beading.

Nicole Kidman will photograph Ferragamo shoes for the magazine, Harper's Bazaar, in the film project, Fur.

Later this year, Salvatore Ferragamo will be awarded the Fifth Rodeo Drive Walk of Style Award, a plaque which will feature his famous quote and signature.

The family continues to carry on the proud tradition. One son, walking in his father's footsteps, made his mother's shoes when he was fourteen. Salvatore's wife and six children all play a role in the business, still renowned for its grand elegance and style. One grand-daughter, Vivia, has set up her own London-based, fashion label. Another of Salvatore's grand-daughters, Olivia, is the spokeswoman for their new scent, Incanto Charms. She told Sunday People, the magazine of The Sunday Times, that she would "like to get married and move back to Italy as I feel Italy is the best place to raise children".

By Lisa-Anne Sanderson