LIVING LA DOLCE VITA

Fashion designer Vivia Ferragamo invites us into her home in Rome, which carries both the spirit of her famous grandfather and her own colourful style

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

When Vivia Ferragamo first set foot inside her beautiful house in the centre of Rome, she instantly had a sense that fate had led her there.

Not only was it in the same street where Italian artist Caravaggio and designer Karl Lagerfeld once lived, but it sits next to a church dedicated to Saint Blaise – the patron saint connected to Il Borro, her family’s estate in Tuscany.

“My grandmother, Wanda, had passed away a month earlier, and she had always wanted me to feel safe,” the British-Italian designer tells HELLO! as she invites us into her stylish home, a stone’s throw from the Spanish Steps.

“I felt as though she was somehow guiding me there,” she adds. “It’s as though we are a part of this incredible church; as soon as the bells ring on a Sunday, I'm there.”

Vivia, 51, represents the third generation of the renowned Ferragamo fashion house beloved of celebrities such as Eva Longoria Bastón, Kylie Jenner, Rita Ora and Dakota Johnson. Her own brand, Vivia, has famous followers including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kylie Minogue.

FASHION IN THE FAMILY

Her grandfather was the legendary shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, a humble cobbler from a small village near Naples who made his fortune after moving to the US aged 16 and making shoes for film stars including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Judy Garland. Vivia’s father, Ferrucio, continues to run the family’s luxury accessories business.

“My grandfather died when he was 62, so I never met him, but he left the most enormous legacy,” Vivia says.

“He was one of 14 kids, and when he was nine, he made his first pair of shoes for his sister’s Holy Communion, because the family didn’t have enough money to buy them.