Salvatore Ferragamo Boutique (Florence, Italy)

Luxury flagships in cities tend to be grouped along one or a few large shopping streets - in the case of Florence, this street is Via dei Tornabuoni, where as one journalist once described, you'll find designer stores trying to 'outflagship' each other. Like most luxury streets, it's difficult to focus on just one boutique, because each one is trying to look more glitzy and spectacular than its neighbor. Florence is home to a large number of local fashion heroes, including Gucci, Cavalli and Pucci who all hail from the Tuscan capital, but if you had to give an award to the biggest, grandest and most eye-catching flagship of them all, Salvatore Ferragamo would win the prize.

Store windows showcasing replicas of the Judy Garland shoe and matching dresses (left and lower row). Side-view of the impressive Palazzo (center) and the grand main entrance (top right).

The Ferragamo store isn't just a shop, but housed in a castle - the Palazzo Spini Feroni - which was bought by Salvatore himself in 1938, having set up his workshop there 10 years prior when his company was officially founded. Before settling in Florence in 1927, he had already made a name for himself in California where he designed footwear for movie productions and some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth or Sophia Loren to name a few. I won't go into the entire Ferragamo history, but what fascinated me the most about this guy, was the fact that he didn't just focus on creating beautiful well-made shoes, but actually made great efforts to ensure they were comfortable. In fact, he was so distraught when he learned how painful heels could be, that he studied anatomy at the USC where he learned that the weight of the body fell upon the arch of the foot. Applying this knowledge to shoe design, he subsequently invented some of the most popular heel shapes today, whether it's the wedge, the cage heel or the metal-reinforced stiletto made famous by Marilyn Monroe. Even though he wanted to move away from the Hollywood label that was given to him, he never stopped being a favorite among stars. After his death his oldest daughter took over the creative direction, designing the popular Vara shoe, while his widow ran the company releasing clothing, bags and accessories under his name. To this day, the company is still very much a family-owned business run by Salvatore's wife Wanda and his children.

Images of the museum's interior which include original foot models of famed Hollywood stars and photographs, such as the one featuring Audrey Hepburn (images: Salvatore Ferragamo).

You'd expect a brand with this much heritage to put a little thought into their headquarter flagship and it's definitely an experience. Even though it may look too imposing to enter, once you've stepped through one of the many doorways (there are at least four different entrances), you do feel welcome despite the opulence of the store interior. It's both a tourist attraction and a boutique, as the Ferragamo museum is housed in the basement, where for 5 EUR you can peruse the vast archives of original shoes dating back to the 20s and foot models of famous Hollywood actresses such as Greta Garbo or Ava Gardner. You'll also find the famous Vara color wheel and a lot of history and photography on the brand and its founder. Even if you decide not to visit the museum, you'll get a fair share of Ferragamo history thrown your way. The first boutique room I entered was the 'concept store', an area where you could purchase revivals of historical shoes and iconic bags that are entirely hand-made using the original constructions and leathers. All of these are available in limited quantities, but if you ever fancied the colorful wedges that were created for Judy Garland, you can get your own version of the shoe and perhaps even a bag to match it.

The 'concept store' which stocks the 'creations' range based on vintage pieces from the Ferragamo archives. Love that the carpet featured little shoes as well.

Photos of Salvatore, his workshop and his famous clients were strewn all over the boutique, just in case you do forget the company history. All of this added to the experience you were walking through time and enforced the idea that this brand was one that relies on impeccable craftsmanship and family tradition. The boutique was laid out with interconnecting rooms, covering the entire store area on the ground floor. The next sections were dedicated to a few RTW clothing items - I didn't recognize any as being from the runway collection, so I'm not sure which range they belonged to. The adjoining room had a few more shoes, bags and accessories, but if you really want to look at heels and boots, it's the main footwear section you should head straight to.

Clothing and accessories in the adjoining room, incl. a few cute items with the shoe logo.

This area was huge and made every shoe store I had visited in the past (whether it was Zanotti or Louboutin) look like a tiny closet space. If you hadn't noticed the high ceilings, medieval arches, hand-painted frescoes and marble pillars before, you probably will now. Chic black leather sofas were everywhere... as were the shoes, which occupied shelves along each wall in this vast hall. Even though I'm not a Vara or Varina type of girl, I can appreciate the quality and design of every shoe and there was a good balance between the old-world sophisticated chic of the classic models and the more modern creations that used laser-cuts, sequins and snakeskin. Long famed for working with materials such as raffia or cork which no one else used at the time, the company still does well applying innovative materials and shapes to their footwear.

The main shoe area featuring various versions of the Vara & Varina and countless other heels, boots & flats. Bags can be found here as well.

The two side-rooms I poked my head in housed a greater selection of RTW clothes, this time from the runway collection. I liked some of the chunkier knits and evening dresses, but to be honest, a lot of the suits, skirts and trousers were really not my style and were a tad too matronly for my taste, though I'm sure they're a big hit among the wealthy Italian society ladies. For more ladylike chic, the scarf room proved to be quite popular among tourists who wanted to take home a souvenir and could choose among a nice selection of silk foulards, knit scarves or cashmere stoles.

More women's wear and an impressive ceiling fresco.

The colorful scarf room.

Leaving this section the next areas were all dedicated to menswear with shoes once again taking center stage. The shirt and tie sections were quite impressive as well, and leather goods such as travel bags, belts, wallets and briefcases could all be found in adjoining areas.

Men's shoes, bags, shirts and accessories.

The grandest of these rooms was dedicated to men's clothing, which once again showcased the beautiful arched ceilings with their past-century inspired decorations. Menswear seemed to be slightly less conservative with sports jackets, knit sweaters, wool coats and leather outerwear making up most of the collection.

Men's RTW area with its beautiful ceilings...

This is definitely a great place to go if you're a fan of fashion and fashion history. With newer shoe brands taking the limelight, I had briefly forgotten Ferragamo's impact and importance in the footwear and fashion industry in general. This was a nice reminder of where many of these trends had come from and how timeless or relevant these creations still are. A peek into the museum is recommended, yet even without this extra tour, you are sure to relive the Ferragamo heritage just by browsing the historic flagship.

Selection from Ferragamo's FW09 collection (images: style.com).

Some of Ferragamo's iconic shoes throughout the years, incl. the cork wedges, cage heel and raffia sandal (left and center column), as well as two shoes from the current season, such as the snakeskin platform and cut-out bootie (far right).

Address: 4r-14r Via dei Tornabuoni, 50123 Florence
Opening Hrs: Mon: 14:00-19:00, Tue-Sat: 10:00-19:00
Salvatore Ferragamo Homepage & Online-Shop (IT, UK, US only)