Italy: The Cobbler Queen of Florence

At the end of World War II, Italy’s shoemakers were a down-at-the-heels lot, and Fiamma Ferragamo was a bright-eyed bambina in Florence. Having grown up together, both the Italian shoe industry and Fiamma are now well accustomed to each other. The world’s largest exporter of leather foot wear, Italy sold $315 million worth of shoes abroad last year, is running 25% ahead of that pace in 1968. And as part owner and chief designer for one of the best known of her country’s 8,000 shoe manufacturers, raven-haired Fiamma, now 27, reigns as an industry style setter.

Unlike Calzaturificio of Varese, the largest shoemaker in Italy’s domestic market, Fiamma turns out most of her shoes for foreign feet. Eldest child of the founder of Ferragamo of Florence, she took over her present position when her father died in 1960, despite the fact that she was only 18. Her youthfulness has hardly been a handicap. From 76,000 pairs in 1960, Ferragamo has increased its annual production to 130,000 pairs, of which 70% are sold abroad. By far the biggest market is the U.S., where fashion-conscious women spend $22 for simple suede knock abouts, $65 for embroidered pumps and up to $175 for alligator styles.

Previous Existence. Ferragamo owes its growth to Fiamma’s success in preserving her father’s emphasis on restrained elegance and comfort. A farmer’s son who did not have a pair of his own until he was ten, Salvatore Ferragamo made up for that deprivation with an uncommon love of shoes, and insisted that he had been a shoemaker “in some previous existence upon this earth.” Ferragamo opened his own cobbler’s shop at eleven and migrated three years later to the U.S., where he took anatomy courses at the University of Southern California in an effort to devise ways of making shoes more comfortable. He was, he said, “consumed with anger and compassion for all those who walk in torment.”

After returning to Florence in 1927, Ferragamo built up his business by turning out shoes that fitted the taste, pocketbooks and arches of a clientele that has included Queen Elizabeth II, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. When he died, his family took over the business in the best Italian tradition. Today his widow nominally serves as president, while a son, Ferruccio, 23, is commercial director and heir apparent. But because the firm’s emphasis is on style, Designer Fiamma is its driving force.

13th Century Palazzo. Ensconced last week in Ferragamo’s headquarters in a 13th century palazzo, Fiamma was busily preparing her new fall line, which she plans to bring to New York early next month. Although she promises “something new and revolutionary in heels,” the fall collection is sure to have the distinctive Ferragamo touch, which means that the shoes will be smart, plain-lined and, except for a few styles, made by hand. Says Fiamma: “Simply designed shoes are the hardest to make, but they sell best and always look stylish.”