On Monday (3/3/08) my fashion in film class went to the Ferragamo Museum. It was so interesting to learn about him. He made his first pair of shoes when he was 9! In Italy it's important to have a new pair of white shoes to wear to your First Communion. His family didn't have enough money to buy a new pair for his sister so he made them for her. He came to the US when he was 16 and worked in a shoe factory and realized he didn't like it right away so he went to Santa Barbara and opened a shoe repair store with his brothers. He soon started designing shoes for films. He then moved his store to Hollywood and became known as "the Shoemaker of Dreams" and "the shoemaker to the stars." He made a wooden last of your foot with all the measurements he would need so that each pair of shoes would fit you perfectly. He experimented and perfected the support in shoes to create shoes that were now stylish and comfortable. In 1952 he got the idea that his heels would last longer if made of steel. He called them by the Italian name, Stiletto.
In the museum we saw the wooden last he made for Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Drew Barrymore. He made shoes for stars for both their roles in films and for them personally. On display they had old receipts from stars included one for Marilyn Monroe. They also had shoes that belonged Monroe and Audrey Hepburn on display and other shoes that were made for films. We also saw a pair of shoes made out of 18 karat gold that were designed for an Australian Tycoon's wife.
My Fashion Marketing class is also going to the museum in a few weeks.
(Information from Fashion in Film class and Ferragamo shoe museum)
No comments:
Post a Comment