Ferrina by Salvatore Ferragamo
At Kendals | Manchester
|
“FERRINA” SHOES
We invite you to inspect our beautiful range of “Ferrina” shoes made in England by British craftsmen under the supervision of Signor Salvatore Ferragamo, of Florence. Superlative in stylings, workmanship, and materials, these shoes priced £5.19.6 are exclusive to Kendals in Manchester.
Kendal Milne & Co. advertisementThe Guardian | May 14, 1952
Ferrina by Salvatore Ferragamo | At Kendals | Manchester
Source: The Guardian | May 14, 1952
|
The ad above is deceptive: the Ferrinas weren’t shown although Ferragamo also produced children’s footwear under the new moniker. No stone left unturned.
By July 1952 the Ferrina brand reached the American market and warmly welcomed :
HAND MADE SHOES BECOME AVAILABLE TO AVERAGE PEOPLE.SOON TO BE HERE
In New York I visited the showroom where samples of the Ferragamo shoe fashions, soon to be available at Joseph Horne’s, were shown to me. In sizes 4 1/2 to 10, AAAA to C widths, there were so-called standard shoes, delicate looking, sturdily made, beautifully turned and stitched. With moderately high but extremely graceful heels that look higher, two closed-toe, closed-heel shoes had a single eyelet tie, or were made in a décolleté pump style with slightly rounded toe.
A black suede pump had a gold underlay. This was in the specially styled group, which also included shoes in four or five shades of leather given an iridescent quality through some secret gold wash process.
Frances WalkerPittsburgh Post-Gazette | July 2, 1952
1955 | Ferrina By Salvatore Ferragamo
At Kendals | Manchester
Source: The Guardian | February 2, 1955
|
Salvatore Ferragamo kept producing hand-made shoes until his death (1960); probably the hand-made production survived his creator for a few years. All the same, while it is unclear when the Ferrina brand ended its course, the established M.O. remained in place. The market demanded it and there was no looking back.
BY SALVATORE FERRAGAMO | PART 1
SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
I N D E X