Italian Flash

Souvenir Shop, Rome - Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Went into a gift store looking for some adapters. Saw this, and it made me laugh. The mass-pro nerd in me had to take a picture. It's funny... Just a year or two ago there was no "mass-pro nerd" in me. Well,here's some Italian flash for you all to enjoy.

Ciao,

Ruby

Dressed From Head to Toe: Stephen Jones at Ferragamo

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence - June 3

On our last full day in Florence we spent the morning at Museo Ferragamo, a gallery dedicated to the preservation and exhibition of Salvatore Ferragamo's collection of custom designed shoes. The museum serves as an archive of Ferragamo's life work and allows visitors to witness the ingenuity and artistry behind each of his creations. Several other artists and designers are featured at the museum, giving inspiration to, or drawing inspiration from the collections and how they are presented. One of these designers is Stephen Jones, a London-born milliner who has developed a series of hand-made hats modelled off of a selection of Ferragamo's infamous shoes.

A sketch I made of one of Jones' hats at Museo Ferragamo.

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO'S SENSATIONAL FABRICS & MORE

Salvatore Ferragamo Museum, Florence - Friday, June 3rd, 2011


On June 3rd we visited the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence, Italy. What I found the most interesting was his varied use of materials and the stories behind their first use. For example, Salvatore was the inventor of the shank. A strip of steel in the sole of the shoe which helps support the weight of the wearer’s body. He even obtained a patent for this invention. Then, in 1938, he designed the first wedge shoe for Judy Garland using cork for the support. At the time there was war in Germany and Ferragamo could not get the steel he needed to make the shank; thus, he used cork.

Sketches from Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, Florence - Friday, June 3

As we entered the museum of Salvatore Ferragamo, we saw the timeless fashion design.

Hyunji Son, Laura P.

Ferragamo: Shoes for the Stars

Ferragamo Museum, Florence - Friday, June 3rd, 2011

Salvatore Ferragamo demonstrates the link between fashion and cinema.

He followed the movie industry to Hollywood to set up shop and began to design shoes for cinema. His creativity, craftsmanship, and consideration for the human anatomy produced shoes of original design, high quality and incomparable comfort. The following video is amalgamation of photos and audio clips found on the corporate museum website.

Salvatore Ferragamo, the company, has retained a relationship with the film industry by continuing to work closely with costume designers. They have been involved in such productions as Evita, Ever After and Australia.


Foong Ling, Xinran, Ruby