Living Creatively

Salvatore Ferragamo Shoe Museum in Florence displays 10,000 shoes created by the late Italian shoe designer, and it's one of the fashion world's best-loved museums. In a city that boasts some of the country's best art galleries and fashion houses, it's a must-see for shoe-lovers and art admirers.

Opened in 1995, the four-room museum is on the second floor of Ferragamo's original workshop, Palazzo Spini Feroni, which is privately owned by the Ferragamo family. Here, you'll see some of the most amazing shoes ever made.

The museum demonstrates Ferragamo's artistic genius as well as giving an insight into the pivotal role he played in shoe design and international fashion from 1920 until he died in 1960.

Ferragamo, one of the true pioneers of fashion, made his first pair of shoes at the age of nine, for his sister's confirmation, and by the time he was in his late teens he was making one-of-a-kind, handmade shoes for Hollywood's leading ladies.

As well as shoes inside the old walls of Palazzo Spini Feroni, there are also Ferragamo's original working tools, photographs, patents, sketches, books, magazines and the wooden lasts of some of the most famous feet to have set foot on Hollywood Boulevard. Lasts belonging to Rita Hayworth, Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, Katharine Hepburn, Marlene Dietrich and Bette Davis are all here and fascinating to see.

With his designs, choice of materials and use of technology, Ferragamo was always ahead of his time. Looking at many of the shoes on display, it's clear he sought inspiration from Florence's art and architecture. Some of his shoes' features are reminiscent of the wrought iron gates, stair handrails, gratings, Byzantine mosaics and art in the city. The aerodynamic, rounded-off forms of some of his other shoe designs mimic versions of aerodynamic cars and aircraft.

Ferragamo's sketches illustrate his technical abilities as well as his design flair. Another attribute of his work, noticeable in the sketches on display, was that he wanted to make good-looking shoes that were also comfortable and fitted well.

Ferragamo's business acumen was just as sharp as his ability to make fine shoes. He patented unique systems for making leather substitutes, producing raffia and jersey uppers, heels made of transparent Bakelite and jointed 'wooden' soles made from Galalith. Many of the patents can be seen at the museum. They give visitors an insight into Ferragamo's ingenuity and technical brilliance.

The vast collection of shoes on display is rotated every two years and each shoe is selected to coincide with art, cultural and fashion events or themes of the day, keeping this inspirational museum fresh, relevant and contemporary. The museum also has a small collection of period shoes [dating back to the 18th and 19th century] as well as clothing and handbags owned by the Ferragamo Company.

The museum stands as a fitting memorial to a man whose contribution to fashion and art culture is such that in 1999 the Salvatore Ferragamo Empire was awarded the Guggenheim First Prize for Industry and Culture.