L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 11 L'Italo-Americano relationship of collaboration with the most famous producers of that period. The list of Ferragamo's clients soon became embellished with famous names of American cinematography: Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Joan Crawford soon became his ideal ambassadors and they contributed to transforming his name into a veritable high quality label. The artisan from Bonito worked on, among other things, his own personal revolution in design, making women's shoes more open and more revealing, which until then were strictly closed and laced right up to the ankle, and creating the very first models of sandals. For this Ferragamo received unexpected and striking success, so much so that he was not able to keep up with all the orders. Although Ferragamo's shoes were not orthopedic, they were sturdy and comfortable, remarkably respect- ing the anatomic equilibrium of the body, and drew attention for their refined elegance. This was the success that the very young shoemaker, who had left his homeland in Campagna, had achieved as he conquered the States! The immense bulk of his orders were not able to be ful- filled by his company quickly enough, especially in the cine- matographic world that demanded increasingly larger numbers of Ferragamo shoes. He began look- ing for competent shoemakers throughout all of America but did not find any artisans that were able to live up to the expectations of his requests. Having to choose between the industrialization and the reorganization of his hand- made production, Ferragamo chose the third option, that of returning to Italy. Only after several months of fruitless attempts (in the South, in the North and in other regions of Central Italy) the shoemaker finally found the artisans that were suited to his production in Florence, and in Dante Alighieri's city, in via Mannelli, he set up his first workshop with sixty workers. At this point, the sharp Italian- American entrepreneur adapted a true human assembly line, wanti- ng, in no way, to give in to the law of industrialization. So, in just a few months, he was able to return to the American shores with his first samples. But in 1933, Ferragamo's company unexpectedly found itself up against closed doors for exporta- tion to the United States as well as incompetent management of his very own chief executive. Ferragamo was forced to declare bankruptcy but he did not lose faith. The boy from Irpinia start- ed up again on the Italian market and obtained a new clientele which, in 1936, brought him to the peak of his business, though short-lived on the world stage marked by the tragedy of the Second World War. During this period he survived exhausting his entire creativity. One of his most popular creations, the wedgie made of cork, is from those years. They are solid and light shoes, patented in 1936 and were immediately copied by all designers. With great sacrifices, Ferragamo was able to buy Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence. It was here that he created the headquarters for his company but his name by now was known all over the world. In 1940, during the war, he was able to find the time to get married to Wanda Miletti, the daughter of the municipal doctor of Bonito. He won over Hollywood in a big way with an endless variety of elegant, frivolous, bizarre and exclusive styles. The desire for life, for extrava- gance and for the industry, a message received with courage and determination by his wife and oldest daughter Fiamma, both who took over the business after his death in 1960. After his death, Fiamma main- tained the ability to give to the label that essential historical con- tinuity to project beyond its founder, also achieving for herself the Nieman Marcus Fashion Award in 1967 in recognition for her great sense of style. A form of recognition that in the United States was attributed to him with the Saks Fifth Avenue Award in 1969, the title of Designer of the Year in 1988, and the Fashion Footwear Association of New York Medal of Honor in 1993. Today Ferragamo is a leading company in the fashion industry throughout the world, with a array of products ranging from footwear to fragrances to eye- wear, that no longer have the production times that Salvatore worked with but that, always concentrating on the quality, would still sat- isfy the little artisan from Bonito, the conquistador of the American dream. joy, after so much death and destruction, brought Salvatore to design shoes with high heels, rein- forced in metal and an invisible sandal with the upper part of the shoe made of nylon thread. These were all memorable creations that earned him the Oscar for fashion, the "Nieman Marcus Award", awarded to a shoemaker for the first time in 1947. His clientele at this point boasted high-sounding names. Celebrities like Greta Garbo, Anna Magnani, the Dukes of Windsor, and Audrey Hepburn arrived in Florence giving the shape of their foot and commis- sioning their shoes. Ferragamo decided to start the first automa- tion of his production, keeping however, under strict control that very production and leaving only the finishing touches to the human hand. This was a clear message to LIFE PEOPLE MOVIES MUSIC BOOKS Continued from page 10 Ferragamo won over Hollywood in a big way with an endless variety of elegant, frivolous, bizarre and exclu- sive styles. Photo courtesy of: Museo Ferragamo

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