Unmissable: the ‘Salvatore Ferragamo 1898-1960’ exhibition in Florence

The “Salvatore Ferragamo 1898-1960” exhibition currently on show at Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence is as important as it is a pleasant surprise.
It is the richest and most comprehensive exhibition about Salvatore Ferragamo ever held.

The occasion is the centenary of the opening of his first store, the ‘Hollywood Boots Shop’ in Los Angeles.
A photo of this first store, cut out of a newspaper and kept by Salvatore himself, is also on display.
The exhibition also recalls the first Salvatore Ferragamo retrospective, held in 1985 at Palazzo Strozzi in
Florence, at a time when fashion exhibitions were not common.

This retrospective was the first exhibition dedicated to a “creator” rather than an artist.
On this occasion, 202 shoes were exhibited as if they were true works of art. This groundbreaking exhibition was so successful that it became a traveling exhibition. It was shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 1987 and later in Los Angeles, Mexico City and Tokyo.

The current exhibition in Florence is the result of extensive research in which archivists, costume and fashion historians have reconstructed the most important stages in the life of the “Shoemaker who made dreams come true” through original documents, photographs and objects.
His birth in1898 in a small village in Naples region, emigration to the United States, success in Hollywood, the increasing production and the need to find who could produce shoes according to his extremely high standards. This is exactly what brought him to Florence in 1927. Here he found the ideal place and the artisans capable of producing high quality shoes he was famous for.
It was in Florence that he opened his first workshop with a group of shoemakers, where they carried out artisanal
production with an almost industrial organization.
Florence is a city where the artisan tradition is deeply rooted. Already in the medieval workshops, skill, ingenuity and specialization were highly valued and passed down from generation to generation. The perfect place for Salvatore Ferragamo.

The exhibition shows him presenting a model to a very young Audrey Hepburn and Sofia Loren, Greta Garbo, Judy Garland wearing the shoes he made. Images from his professional history intersect with his private life.
Iconic creations, inspirations and patents alternate with images of Marylin Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and many other celebrities who have appreciated the style of Salvatore Ferragamo costume and the high standards of Italian craftsmanship.

The exhibition runs until April 27, 2025, and is open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Admission: 8 €
Free for under 18s and over 65