Salvatore Ferragamo- from street cleaning shop of shoes to the Greatest shoe designer of XX century.

In Bonito, a small town located in Italy, lived the Ferragamo family. Salvatore had always shown great interest in fashion and in particular in making shoes, he began his journey in fashion as early as the age of nine . However, his father not believing in this passion did not support him until the wake of Salvatore's little sister Giuseppina's communion came. The father, Antonio, did not have enough money to buy his daughter white shoes for the celebration of her religious ceremony. In this way Salvatore did not back down and worked all night to be able to bring to life beautiful and elegant white shoes that his sister would use the next day. And that is when Antonio Ferragamo saw his son's talent and supported him to strengthen this potential.

During the beginning of his career, Salvatore studied shoemaking for one year in Naples and then, in 1915, he moved to Boston in the United States. After spending some time in the City on a Hill working in a boot shop with his brothers, Salvatore convinced his family to move to Santa Barbara, unaware that this choice would change his life. In California, he started working in a shop where he manufactured shoes for the rising cinema industry. This experience gave him the opportunity to perfect his capacities, and he achieved so much of his talent that he managed to open his first shoe store in Hollywood . After spending thirteen years in the United States, where he had the opportunity to increase his passion for fashion and to experience some real career experiences, he decided to move back to Italy.

In fact, in 1927, Salvatore went to Florence. The choice of this city was very specific, being renowned as the ideal soil for creativity. It was a city that gave disponibility to leather and skill artisan also for his cultural heritage and remarkable diversity of arts and trades. This city gave him the opportunity to increase his career path : in less than one year he opened his first shop in Via Mannelli where he had 75 apprentices. Everything was very positive for Salvatore Ferragamo and his life prospects. However, 1929 approached and unfortunately even Ferragamo's business has been affected by the economic crisis. The shop had a strong instability and forced him to sell his Hollywood boutique and to close the shop in Via Mannelli. Hopefully, he handled this temporary fall well, and in 1936 he re-founded the company in Rome and in Milan.

Ferragamo had the distinction of making unique shoes for each customer. The dedication and care he gave to each creation made his products incomparable with an elegance and purity that conveyed a sense of pride and uniqueness to the wearer. This led him to manufacture shoes for celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Lauren, Audrey Hepburn and very quickly he became the key figure of Italian fashion culture. Thanks to his fame he could extend the portfolio to bags, dresses and other fashion items. Today, Ferragamo’s brand has an international reputation and his stores are present worldwide. In Florence, the city where everything began, you can visit the Ferragamo Museum in the Palazzo Spini Feroni : a large Gothic palace that stands across from the church of Santa Trinità.

His story is inspirational by giving an invaluable value to Italian fashion starting from a simple shoe factory. This makes it clear how a simple passion can lead to talent that will always be recognized until success is achieved. Salvatore Ferragamo started from nothing, but his choices have always carried him forward. It is important to never stop in the face of life's obstacles and this Salvatore teaches us well.

https://blog.theluxurycloset.com/2017/09/04/history-salvatore-ferragamo/

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