Ferragamo Chiffon Peasant Dress With Gold Lace Detail
View Similar Items
Ferragamo Chiffon Peasant Dress With Gold Lace Detail
About the Item
Ferragamo
A perfectionist who as a child crafted a pair of white shoes for his sister’s first holy communion because his parents couldn’t afford new footwear, Salvatore Ferragamo was ambitious from his earliest days. The young Italian shoemaker established in the years that followed what would one day become a fashion empire — the highly profitable multinational family-owned and -operated luxury brand today counts more than 600 stores in 96 countries around the world, and vintage Ferragamo shoes, handbags and other clothing and accessories are objects of desire for fashion lovers everywhere.
Salvatore Ferragamo sought an education in the art of shoemaking when he was eleven — he apprenticed with a local shoemaker and spent a short time in nearby Naples learning what he could at a shoe factory. He opened his first shop with a handful of workers the following year, and in 1914 — when he was still a teenager — Ferragamo emigrated to America, just as his siblings had before him, seeking new opportunities for work and to learn in the footwear trade.
After securing a job at the Plant Shoe Factory in Boston, Massachusetts, Ferragamo was uninspired by machine-made footwear. He moved across the country to Santa Barbara, California. Owing to a connection he made with a then-actor cousin, Ferragamo found work with the American Film Manufacturing Company. He made women’s shoes and provided durable cowboy boots for a film crew’s costuming department. Ferragamo’s reputation in the world of Hollywood cinema soon broadened, and he established a storefront in Mission Canyon where he made shoes by hand for the likes of actresses Gloria Swanson, Greta Garbo and Dolores del Río.
By the 1920s, film directors commissioned Ferragamo to produce shoes for a range of movies — the list of films eventually included The Ten Commandments, The Covered Wagon and The Thief of Baghdad. When he felt comfortable enough with the English language, Ferragamo also enrolled in anatomy courses at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in order to better understand motion and the demands that we place on our footwear.
By the late 1920s, Ferragamo sought to expand production of his shoes and returned to Italy. He hired scores of apprentices to work in a factory in Florence, where Ferragamo carefully melded the principles of handcraftsmanship with all that he learned about America’s shoe factories. He filed patents — hundreds over the years — on the steel shank arch and many other unique aspects of his shoe design, and when economic and political influences during the 1930s forced Ferragamo to substitute pressed cork for steel to support the arch, the wedge heel was born. Other creative materials he integrated into his forward-looking creations were hemp, felt, nylon fishing line, fish skin and cellophane twisted with silk.
In the late 1940s, the brand’s first storefront opened in Manhattan, and today Salvatore Ferragamo is known worldwide and is synonymous with a wealth of iconic footwear such as Viva ballet flats, Vara Bow pumps, Gancini loafers and lots more. Ferragamo’s son, Ferruccio, was appointed CEO in 1984. Under his leadership, Ferruccio diversified and expanded the fashion business further, getting into sunglasses, fragrance, watches and made-to-measure men’s shoes. Ferruccio was succeeded by his brother, Leonardo Ferragamo, and British designer Maximilian Davis is now creative director of the brand.
Find vintage Ferragamo shoes, clothing and other items on 1stDibs.
- Geoffrey Beene Cocktail DressBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in New York, NYGeoffrey Beene, halter neckline cocktail dress with matching fitted jacket. Dress bodice is very fitted with halter back and neck in a pink and and white small check woven fabric. Th...Category
Late 20th Century American Cocktail Dresses
- Galanos Empire Waist GownBy GalanosLocated in New York, NYGalanos, wool, matelasse, A line, empire waist gown with square neckline, front and back. Dress is lined in chiffon.Category
1970s American Evening Gowns
- Geoffrey Beene Taffeta Evening Dress With Point D'Esprit DetailBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in New York, NYGeoffrey Beene, black silk jacquard dress, having a soft funnel neck that is ruched at the sides. Sleeves are raglan, that get narrow at the wrist.There is a point d'esprit pannel t...Category
1990s American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Givenchy Couture Velvet and Sequined Cocktail DressBy GivenchyLocated in New York, NYGivenchy Couture, black velvet cocktail dress having black sequins embellishment in the form of circles. Dress has long sleeves with a cowl, draped neckline having an interior "weig...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Galanos Chiffon Dinner Dress With Flounced CollarBy GalanosLocated in New York, NYGalanos, layered chiffon dinner dress, having sheer full sleeves that cuff at the wrist and a generous flounced collar. Silhouette is slim with box pleats that start above the knee a...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Galanos Draped Crepe Cocktail DressBy GalanosLocated in New York, NYJames Galanos, 3 ply, silk crepe, cocktail dress, having long sleeves with a deep v neck at the center. Bodice is very fitted with signature, Galanos horizontal ruching . Skirt is b...Category
1980s American Cocktail Dresses
- Nipon Boutique Black Velvet Halter Dress with Satin Ribbon Size US 6By Albert NiponLocated in New York, NYNipon Boutique black velvet cocktail dress with satin ribbon trim and bows tied at neck and back. Flirty six paneled dress body with flared bottom. Fu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Dresses
- Adolfo Tropical Silk Jersey Strapless Dress with Half CapeletBy AdolfoLocated in New York, NYAdolfo strapless dress with bold green, indigo and white tropical floral print. Wonderfully tailored, with fitted bodice and draped open tulip front slit above the knee for movement...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Valentino Boutique Black Beaded Silk Chiffon Evening Gown Size US 6By ValentinoLocated in New York, NYLuxurious Valentino Boutique black silk evening gown with tiered ruffles, sweeping hemline and hand beaded and embroidered bodice. Two ruffles at bodice are hand beaded with tiny jet...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Badgley Mischka Beaded Black Silk Lace Evening Gown Size US 10By Badgley MischkaLocated in New York, NYBadgley Mischka glamorous black silk lace evening gown, size US 10. Gown features hand beaded and embroidered lace with glass jet beading, and neckline with glass jet beads along cu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request