September 27, 2018
Italy in Hollywood, at the Ferragamo Museum
The exhibition delves into the years in which the Italian became the shoemaker of the stars
In 1915, the United States West
Coast hosted the Panama –
Pacific International Exposition of San Francisco. The Italian pavilion, designed by Marcello
Piacentini, consolidated the taste of the Americans for Italian art, crafts and
architecture. During those years Italian immigration grew in California, settling
in the area a good number of artists and craftsmen who enriched sectors such as
music, fashion or the growing film industry in Hollywood. It was also in 1915
when Salvatore Ferragamo arrived in the United States, where he became one of
the shoemakers of the stars and where he collaborated with directors such as
David Wark Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille. There he opened the Hollywood Boot
Shop, his shop on Hollywood Boulevard frequented by stars like Charlie Chaplin
or Joan Crawford.
The Ferragamo Museum of Florence
premiered last May the exhibition “Italy in Hollywood” that can be
visited until March 10, 2019 and that covers these interesting years in which
cinema, fashion and Italian tradition came together. The exhibition, designed
by Maurizio Balò, recreates the film studios of the time, showing photographs
and objects including paintings, movie posters, sculptures and, of course,
shoes. The exhibition ends with a recreation of the famous Hollywood Boot Shop,
where visitors can feel part of the Hollywood glamour of the 20s.