Ferragamo
Salvatore Ferragamo was born in 1907 in Bonito, Italy. By the age of 9, he was making shoes for his sisters. He studied shoemaking in Naples and eventually opened his first store based out of his parent's home. As a young man he moved to Boston to work in a boot factory in Boston and from there he went to Hollywood where he opened a small shop. Soon he was catering to the best and brightest of the Hollywood stars. Finding that some of his dream designs were not very comfortable on the foot, he studied anatomy at the University of Southern California so he could create not only beautiful, but also comfortable shoes. Ferragamo returned to Florence in 1927 a well known and well schooled shoe maker. His star had risen far beyond any shoe designer before (and beyond many more to come as well). When the war began Ferragamo turned to unconventional materials such as Crocheted cellophane, fish skins and hemp, and these alternative fabrics helped to create the many outrageous and unique styles that became a trademark of Ferragamo.
