For "Italy in Hollywood," Yuri Ancarani created an original film. Image credit: Museo Salvatore Ferragamo
Italian fashion label Salvatore Ferragamo is delving into its Hollywood history in an exhibit that focuses on its eponymous founder’s time in California.
“Italy in Hollywood” at the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo in Florence will center on the designer’s work with film stars including Cecil B. DeMille, Joan Crawford and Charlie Chaplin, as well as looking at the broader impact of Italian immigration on California’s culture and cinema. The exhibit is based on Mr. Ferragamo's autobiography, reflecting the designer's rise along with the film industry in Los Angeles.
Hollywood history
Mr. Ferragamo lived in the United States from 1915 to 1927, and spent the early years of his career in Santa Barbara, CA. He opened up his Hollywood Boot Shop on Hollywood Boulevard in 1923, which attracted customers from the film industry.
Along with the designer, many other Italian talents made their way to Southern California in those years, leaving their mark on the film industry.
Museo Salvatore Ferragamo’s latest exhibit sheds light on this cultural exchange. Curated by Giuliana Muscio and Stefania Ricci, Italy in Hollywood is presented in a space that resembles a film set.
The displays are also meant to resemble the plot of a film. Photographs, film clips, objects, clothing and artistic depictions help to tell the story of arts and entertainment and artisanship.
Among the objects on display are Fornasetti ceramic plates featuring portraits of diva Lina Cavalieri. Image credit: Fornasetti
While focusing on Italians in Hollywood, the exhibit also looks at films shot in Italy during the period, including “Ben Hur.”
A final room in the exhibit is a recreation of Mr. Ferragamo’s shoe store. Transporting consumers back in time, this display will feature real clips of Hollywood in the 1920s.
Including the perspective of present day Italians in Hollywood, the exhibit also commissioned pieces from Los Angeles-based artists Manfredi Gioacchini and Yuri Ancarani. Organized by Lo Schermo dell’Arte Film Festival, the “Two Young Italians in Hollywood” project includes original photography and video.
Alongside the exhibit, Ferragamo's Creations is launching a capsule collection of footwear based on designs Mr. Ferragamo made for Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford and Joan Crawford. The three women's styles and three men's styles come in special packaging with a certificate.
Italy in Hollywood opened May 24, and will run until March 29, 2019.
Ferragamo has previously delved into its film affiliations with other initiatives. In 2015, Salvatore Ferragamo celebrated its century-long ties to cinema with the release of a contemporary short film project.
“Ferragamo Signature” premiered at an interactive event in New York Dec. 8, in which guests became Hollywood stars themselves, posing for a live-streamed feed among a collection of film sets. This event and project was the culmination of Ferragamo’s 100-day homage to its origins as a shoemaker to the stars (see story).