Cobbler to Couterier: Ferragamo’s Tale


January 29, 2025


Behind a special door in my childhood home lies a trove only my mother and I dare to open. While the door itself is ordinary and unremarkable, the objects it guards are spectacles. They contain a history with their creator and an ongoing narrative with their possessor. When I open the door to reveal the treasures within, I cannot help but be dazzled by the unlimited pairs of beautiful slippers and boots awaiting to be admired and worn. With eyes full of wonder, I would often see my mother take out a pair of shoes from her endless closet and gaze at the artwork that decorated her feet. Some days, I would observe the rainbow hues of her heels, each shade shimmering in the sunlight that streamed down from our chandelier. On other days, I would eye her rich burgundy and mauve pumps, with their velvety tones and sheen finish that perfectly molded to her feet. My favorite days, however, were when she selected her gold-heeled beauties, footwear fit only for those of regal grace such as her. When I asked my mother who designed these wonderful delights, she would smile and respond, “Ferragamo, my favorite.”


Photo via Ferragamo on Pinterest

With hands that possessed the magical ability to create footwear akin to the enchanted slippers that adorned Cinderella’s feet, a young boy fashioned a pair of white shoes amidst a crisis. Salvatore Ferragamo’s sister needed new shoes for her First Communion, yet their family could not afford them. Working all night to create adequate attire for her, he deftly assembled, threaded, and secured the necessary materials to create a pair of shoes. And at barely ten years old, he had already shaped his destiny and established his legacy as Ferragamo — a legendary shoemaker and designer. One of the fashion industry’s most iconic names, he is known for being a maestro of exquisite footwear. From lowly village cobbler to shoemaker for the stars, he expanded his craft to reach the realm of starlets like Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, and Marilyn Monroe. Yet a century later, a new epoch of Ferragamo unfurls: will this dedication to quality and functionality, the essence of Ferragamo’s legacy, persist?

While a prodigy in crafting shoes, Ferragamo’s skills were not originally revered. During the turn of the 19th century, working as a cobbler was considered the lowest of occupations. But it was too late. The art of shoemaking had already captivated Salvatore in his early childhood. Entranced by the village cobbler’s craftsmanship, he would come to learn how to create a pair of pedal novelties himself by simply observing. Soon after creating his first pair of shoes for his sister, the young boy trained in Naples, Italy, then returned to his village to open a successful shoe shop. However, in the same way that any young boy desires freedom and exploration, Ferragamo too began to yearn for a change as he grew into adolescence. It was time to set his sights beyond his small rural hometown of Bonito, Italy to another city: Hollywood. 

Joining his siblings in Boston, Massachusetts, Ferragamo developed his shoemaking expertise by working at the Plant Shoe Factory, a major shoe manufacturer on the East Coast. While impressed by the modernity of the machines, Ferragamo quickly learned that quality is not something that one can mechanize. After a mere two weeks in the factory, Salvatore left for a distant locale across the country. Following his calling to prioritize producing high-quality footwear, the young creative opened a modest workshop store in Santa Barbara, California. Despite achieving small success, Ferragamo knew he had not mastered the craft and yearned again to improve and refine his skills. As such, he enrolled at the University of Southern California, although not for shoemaking, but instead for anatomy. By understanding the foot’s skeletal system, he found exactly where it needed the most support and inserted a steel shank in his shoes to support the foot’s arch. Eccolo! He finally did it. Shoes no longer had to be testaments to the notion that beauty is pain. When it was time for me to master walking in heels, it was my mother’s very own Ferragamo rainbow and gold heels that I practiced in. While I expected to fall plenty and experience excruciating pain, her incredible footwear kept me up and supported my soles in ways I never thought possible from a pair of heels. They offered astonishing stability to my ankles while providing cushioning and arch support. Standing in shoes that have taken her my mother over the world, walking in the heels broken in by her. I always felt secure in her Ferragamos. Likewise, compliments abounded every time I wore them, elevating not just my outfits, but also my self-confidence as a young girl. Shoes were no longer simply pieces of fabric to cover my feet. Rather, they were statements of sophistication and artistry. Becoming a true master of shoemaking, Ferragamo figured out a way to provide comfort and practicality while still maintaining the integrity of his shoes. Now, he was ready for more.


Photo via Archivio Foto Locchi

Taking his newfound skills to the test, he opened the Hollywood Boot Shop. A true master of his craft, Ferragamo designed shoes that were à la mode with the general trends and moods of the time while staying true to his signature styles. Yet being the creative visionary that he was, Ferragamo embraced the avant-garde. While the popular shoes of the 1920s-30s were the Oxfords or the Bar shoe, footwear with simple designs made up of usually one or two neutral-tone colors, Ferragamo dared to try more atypical techniques. He used unconventional materials, such as the paradoxical meshing of luxurious and more modest materials, geometric patterns, and striking color combinations of vibrant hues. As a result, eager customers flocked to his shop. Ferragamo’s shoes quickly became all the rage, earning him the moniker: “Shoemaker to the Stars.” Goddesses from Golden Hollywood, such as Greto Garbo, Gloria Swanson, Jean Harlow, and Audrey Hepburn obsessed over his custom footwear. Soon, his shoes appeared on the silver screen. From cowboy boots for Westerns to manufacturing around 12,000 sandals for The Ten Commandments, Ferragamo designed shoes for legendary pictures. Featured in The Seven Year Itch (1955), he designed Marilyn Monroe’s famous white stilettos that she wore in the iconic scene where she stands atop a New York subway vent. He also created Dorothy’s darling ruby red slippers as seen in The Wizard of Oz (1939), worn by Judy Garland. However, after spending a decade in America, Ferragamo decided it was time to return home to Italy.



Photo via @vintagemoviestars on Instagram

Taking inspiration from his time working at a shoe factory in Boston to hand-crafting shoes in Los Angeles, Ferragamo conceived a groundbreaking idea: mass-producing handmade shoes. Expanding his operations in Florence, he began to create the beginnings of the Ferragamo brand. Combining handmade craftsmanship with efficient production techniques, his 60 employees produced around 350 pairs of shoes a day. 


Photo by David Lee

While remembered as an iconic designer and artisan, Ferragamo must also be remembered as an innovator. With over 300 patents to his name in his lifetime, he invented the most popular forms of shoes that women wear to this day. The wedge heel, stiletto, invisible shoe, platform shoe, and most famously, the “cage heel” can all be attributed to the genius of Salvatore Ferragamo. Above all, he greatly treasured comfort. In his autobiography “Shoemaker of Dreams,” he states “Her nerves have been so greatly calmed by my shoes that her menfolk find it difficult to believe that the woman they love is the same person.” A true trendsetter, Ferragamo never sought to emulate other styles. Instead, he stayed true to himself and saw it as his duty to continue experimenting and creating new designs, not to differentiate himself from other designers; instead, for the sake of art and fashion.

As the company carries on the legacy of its founder, a new era of Ferragamo unfolds. Maximilian Davis, a British fashion designer and former designer with Grace Wales Bonner, was appointed as the brand’s new creative director in 2022. A step to garner a more influential force in the fashion world, his designs and revolutionary changes to the Ferragamo name — like changing the iconic shade of dark Bordeaux red to a brighter, more fiery red — have already pushed the fashion world into a frenzy after only two years. Davis states: “I also want to prove that Ferragamo is not just the brand your parents wear.” Under Maximilian Davis’ creative direction, the House of Ferragamo has artfully intertwined its rich heritage with a renewed, contemporary allure, epitomized by his rebranding efforts, archival homages, and collections that blend sensuality with modern sophistication. Drawing inspiration from his Caribbean heritage, and continuously referencing Ferragamo’s iconic archive, Italian roots, and legacy of working with stars, Davis has infused the brand with fresh energy while maintaining its reputation for elegance. Maximilian Davis’ reimagining of Ferragamo boldly aims to redefine the brand for a younger audience, emphasizing innovative apparel that commands attention and respect. 


Photo via British GQ

While I understand Davis’ intention to update Ferragamo’s image and attract a younger audience, I believe the brand’s legacy has endured for nearly a century because of the power it has given its customers. In his Spring-Summer 2023 collection, Davis pays homage to Ferragamo’s classic Opanka style through the Altaire heel, and although his designs align with Ferragamo’s legacy of subtle strength, particularly in clothing, I fear the footwear — once the brand’s foundation — risks losing its iconic focus on quality, comfort, and timelessness amidst this shift. For me, Ferragamo has always represented unspoken power, especially for women. My mother wore her Ferragamo shoes on business endeavors, and they embodied the confidence and authority she exuded. Thus, I hope that as he continues taking creative direction with the brand, he recalls why the brand’s legacy has been intact for so long — cherishing dedication and quality over the allure of the “nouveau.” ■



Photo via Launchmetrics Spotlight for The Impression



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