StarBulletin.com

Ferragamo classics viewed anew


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POSTED: Thursday, August 06, 2009

The Salvatore Ferragamo flagship boutique unveils a temporary installation of “;Ferragamo's Creations,”; a collection of iconic handbag and shoe designs from the company's archives, resurrected in limited edition.

The collection comprises revivals of historic designs created between the 1920s and '50s, specifically for such icons of style as Eva Peron, Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Ida Lupino, Judy Garland and Carmen Miranda.

Pieces from the collection will be available for purchase locally through Aug. 16. The Honolulu exhibition and sale marks only the second time the pieces have traveled within the United States. It was shown in San Francisco in the spring.

Each piece is numbered, and only 150 to 500 pieces of each style will be made available worldwide. Purchases will come with a certificate of authenticity describing the piece's history and unique characteristics.

The Duarde gold-and-mesh shoe made for Peron was also made for Madonna to wear in “;Evita,”; the musical depicting Peron's rise from rural poverty to become the first lady of Argentina in the 1940s.

The shoes are made entirely by hand, using original constructions and lasts based on the stars' feet, scaled to most women's sizes.

Ferragamo is known for creating the cork wedge during World War II, when leather was scarce. One of his innovations was to cover the cork with pieces of mirror, a look reflected in the Carmen ($3,900), created for Carmen Miranda.