James Ferragamo is understandably proud. The product director for men's and women's leather at luxury fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo is the third generation of the family working at the company started by – and named after – his grandfather, who changed Hollywood's relationship with shoes.
James Ferragamo is sitting in the reopened flagship store in Dubai Mall, amid the creamy marble walls, shot through with seams of caramel and pistachio rugs on the floor. With its calm, peaceful lighting, the space feels luxurious and expensive.
“It's an interpretation of what Maximilian Davis, our young creative director, has been creating with Ferragamo,” James explains.
Appointed in March 2022, Davis has been brought in to rework the house codes through a fresh lens. Practically a Gen Z (“He missed it by one year,” says James with a laugh), Davis is translating Ferragamo's storied history into a language that chimes with a younger audience. Crucially, he is doing so without alienating established clients.
“The objective was to find somebody who could find the right balance within a company with such an important tradition and find a youthful interpretation while not losing its identity,” says James.
Davis's vision is clear in the new space, skilfully linking know-how with the easy elegance the house is famous for. “You have the concept of craftsmanship that you can see in this amazing marble. It's beautiful. ”
Designer Salvatore Ferragamo left Italy over a century ago for Hollywood, where his skill and artistic flair made him the shoemaker for stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn. His name quickly became synonymous with expertise and quality, and his eye for innovation – he invented the platform wedge for Judy Garland, for example – coupled with supreme craftsmanship and comfort kept the stars coming back, year after year.
Today the house has grown to encompass bags and ready-to-wear, yet this fundamental truth remains – everything Ferragamo creates must be comfortable and built to last.
Case in point, the Vara ballerina pump, very much an essential in many a woman's “forever” wardrobe since 1978. Featuring a low, chunky heel, rounded toe and finished with a grosgrain ribbon and metal hardware, the style has been subtly reworked by Davis in inky velvet for a dash of indulgence. The new T-Strap Pump – already a bestseller – is in blood red, and with an architectural cigarette heel, that mixes sensuality and power without compromising comfort.
“This is a 9cm heel, but because of the study of the anatomy of the foot and the way weight distributes between the front and the back, it's actually very comfortable,” explains James. “You can walk on it all day.”
With decades of know-how, the company can make subtle adjustments before the manufacturing stage to make all the difference between a shoe that restricts the foot to one that cups it to perfection. This stems from knowledge built up by the founder and his nephew, Jerry, over decades.
“Jerry Ferragamo worked for 10 years with Salvatore and retired just a couple of years ago, at the age of 93,” says James. “He dedicated his life to the study of the foot and the last.” The last – a carved wooden facsimile of the foot – is the basis of every shoe and, as such, must be anatomically exact, or the resulting shoes will never fit properly.
With the new boutique lined with shelves holding delicate pumps, sandals, flats and boots, the expertise is there to see. “The shoes you see here have about one hundred different fits. We have 18 different lengths, and four different widths,” explains James.
Thanks to this, and the knowledge of how feet tend to differ in proportions around the world – Middle Eastern feet, for example tend to be shorter and wider, while Northern European feet are long and narrow – Ferragamo is able to fine-tune products for each region long before they come to market. With so many variables in construction that must also be addressed before any shoe goes into production, there is a lot for the brand, its designers and its craftspeople to consider.
“It's not easy,” says James. “It is complicated, but it's something we've been doing since the 1930s, so let's say we've passed over the experience curve. But this is why Ferragamo shoes are comfortable.”
Today, the factories combine artisanship and the latest technology that enable a sketch by Davis to be made into a 3D prototype in just three hours, allowing the team to understand how a new idea will work in real time.
Such tech is not just limited to shoes, either. The new Hug bag, for example, is a feat of technical prowess, that is taking the market by storm. Deceptively simple, it appears cut from one piece, with the fastening straps wrapping the bag in a gentle embrace. Clever thinking such as this are not lost on the Middle Eastern market, James notes. “For a brand to be here is to be on the cusp of innovation.”
Regionally, there is a “sensitivity to exclusivity” and an appetite for novelty that makes for a demanding yet dynamic market. “Part of the storytelling of what we do and how we make it relevant to a customer who, as always, wants novelty, wants innovation, is what makes the Middle East so important.”
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