Smooth As Silk

Discover salvatore Ferragamo’s history through its stunning silk prints and works

- Hillary Kang

Mention Salvatore Ferragamo and people think of exquisite shoes. Shimmering silk? Less so. But the luxurious material is actually an inextricable part of the Italian fashion house’s 94-year history. And it is that relationship which is highlighted in its “Seta” exhibition, recently held at the brand’s museum at Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence, Tuscany.

In the late 1950s, founder Salvatore Ferragamo began producing the brand’s first silk scarves. His preferred themes centred around the breath-taking beauty of his native Italy, from its exquisite artworks to its awe-inspiring monuments and buildings.

Though it was Salvatore Ferragamo who dreamed of expanding the brand’s offerings through silk, it was his daughter, Fulvia Ferragamo, who would eventually realise her father’s lofty ambitions. After her father’s death in 1960, Fulvia launched the continuous production of women’s and men’s silk accessories with personalised patterns in the 1970s. She began with silk scarves and ties, but would eventually expand to create everything ranging from suits and dresses to cushions and home accessories. These silk prints were all crafted in Como, the scenic commune in Italy famed for its lake and its prowess in silk-making.

The house’s fascinating history with silk — and its broader legend — is all catalogued lovingly by Stefania Ricci, the long-time Director of the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence. “The periods, the designers, the subjects change, but not the magic,” says Ricci, who dedicated “Seta” to the memory of Fulvia Ferragamo herself. “We never would have thought how much culture is behind each design, how much research [went in] before reaching the final result. They are truly works of art.”