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1980s | THE ETHNIC BOOTS BY OTTORINO BOSSI

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1980s | Ethnic boot by Ottorino Bossi | detail
Source: EBay

"The economy is obviously not that bad. Both Sandilar (in Applegate and in Claire Pearone) and Renaissance in Ann Arbor are carrying an elaborate handmade Italian boot by Ottorino Bossi. The boot, with snake, suede and metallic trim, sells for about $600, and both stores are well stocked. Says Sandilar owner Stan Zerman, who bought the boot in three colors: "It's a fabulous boot. I'm not worried about selling it." Amazing." 
Linnea Lannon | Detroit Free Press, 1982, August 8th


1982 | Ethnic boot by Ottorino Bossi 
Source: Detroit Free Press


OTTORINO BOSSI (1926-1986)
IN MEMORIAM

OTTORINO BOSSI & PEGABO
MANOLO BLAHNIK'S FIRST STEPS

OTTORINO BOSSI
EVERYTHING BUT SHOEMAKER



1980s | Ethnic boots by Ottorino Bossi
Source: eBay (Left), 1stdibs.com (Top center, Right)


OTTORINO BOSSI - PEGABO | INDEX

1927 | BLANCHE MONTEL FOR ANDRE' PERUGIA & ALPINA

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Rose Blanche Jeanne Montel, was born in 1902 in Tours, France.

She started her acting career when only 11 years old. She specialized in melodramas and comedies, appearing in more than forty theatrical works, thirty movies and nine short films. In 1943 she retired from the stage after her second divorce and started a new careeer as impresario for more than forty years. Blanche Montel died in Luzarches, Val d'Oise in 1998.

She was an appreciated actress, a very modern woman and a true sports passionate, who took part and won auto racings and swimming competitions.



1927 | Blanche Montel 
After winning a car race among artist women
Source: Le Sport Universel Illustré


Blanche Montel was also a fashion addicted.

The photograph here below shows Mme Montel at a "driving & elegance competition" in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris. The André Perugia shoes she is wearing were featured the same year in Vogue France.



1929 | Blanche Montel | Driving and elegance competition in the Bois de Boulogne, Paris
Shoes by André Perugia
Source: Gettyimages

1929 | André Perugia shoes and matching handbag
Kidskin and Morocco leather 
Source: Vogue France


We can't say exactly when Blanche Montel became a Perugia customer. We know that in the early Twenties, she was a testimonial for the millinery house of Jane Blanchot and dressed by the Maison Béchoff; Béchoff was located in Faubourg Saint-Honoré nr. 9,  literally next door to Perugia's Saint-Honoré nr. 11.

A professional collaboration with André Perugia started in the mid-Twenties. In 1927 she posed for a Perugia advertising campaign and doubled the effect with a campaign for Alpina, the tannery used by Perugia himself.



1927 | Blanche Montel for André Perugia
Source: La Revue de la Femme


Fashion journalists quite often reviewed the costumes of the actresses, quoting the designers, so we know that Blanche Montel was wearing Perugia shoes in comedies such as:

- "Viens avec nous petit" at the Theatre de la Renaissance, season 1926/1927

- "Vient de paraitre" at the Theatre de la Minodiere, season 1929

- "Hector" at Theatre Apollo, season 1932.



1927 | Blanche Montel wearing a boa coat 
Model by Béchoff in collaboration with Alpina Tanneries
Source: Vogue France


The highlight of the collaboration was in 1927, when Mme Montel surprised the public appearing on the stage at the Theatre de la Renaissance with a long coat - designed by Béchoff - entirely made with boa leather by Alpina with matching shoes by Perugia. This outfit made headlines in Paris and appeared in many fashion magazines.

If there is no authoritative account of the origin of the (lizard/snake skin) craze, there are several Paris personages who are modestly willing to be identified as the pioneers of the new idea. There is Blanche Montel, the pretty boulevard actress, who is anxious for fame as the first wearer of a serpent coat and first owner of a lizard-lined automobile.
Syracuse Journal (NY) | July, 28 | 1928


1927 | Blanche Montel outfit for the comedy Viens avec nous petit
Coat in boa leather and hat by Béchoff | Shoes by André Perugia
Source: Comoedia magazine


ANDRE PERUGIA
BOTTIER DE LUXE
D O S S I E R



NICOLAS GRECO | PARIS (BY WAY OF SICILY) | PART 4/4

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1932 | Nicolas Greco
Evening sandal made in crêpe de chine. Light and dark blue, with golden details
Source: Vogue

Year Unknown | Nicolas Greco
Courtesy of Inge Specht-den Boer (Museum Conservator/Curator)

CA.1935 | Nicolas Greco

CA.1935 | Nicolas Greco

1935 | Nicolas Greco
Sandals in natural linen and brown kidskin; to wear with white line stockings
Source: Vogue

1935 | Nicolas Greco
Sandals in natural linen
Source: Vogue

1927 | Nicolas Greco
4 Rue Des Capucines, PARIS

1928 | Nicolas Greco
Paris, Nice, Cannes, Deauville, Biarritz


NICOLAS GRECO
PARIS (BY WAY OF SICILY)
| 1 | | 2 | | 3 | | 4 |


1930 | Nicolas Greco
4 Rue Des Capucines, PARIS

1973 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | CIRCLES OF SUEDE

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1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal | Detail
Source: Abilene Reporter News



CIRCLES OF SUEDE HIGHLIGHT A MARVELOUS SLING PUMP BY HERBERT LEVINE.

An open toe sling pump with a new fashion twist. Done in beige suede with blue, mauve and beige suede circles on clear vinyl. $50

Herbert Levine ad
Abilene Reporter News | October 21, 1973


 
1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal


1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal

1973 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Circles Of Suede sandal
Source: Abilene Reporter News


BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
I N D E X 



1968 | Vaccari | Bologna
Circle Of Leather

1968 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | OUTER SPACE

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1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle | January 19, 1968


TAKE A WHIRL THRU OUTER SPACE … DESIGNED BY HERBERT LEVINE

A free wheeling pump to put you in orbit and send you soaring southward! Luminescent champagne patent with its own transparent globe of the universe to steer by … comes in black beau de sole also. $42 the pair.

Herbert Levine at Packard Rellin
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle - Milwaukee | January 19, 1968



1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: The Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle | January 19, 1968

1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: YourNameHere

1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump
Source: YourNameHere

BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES
I N D E X



1968 | Beth & Herbert Levine
Outer Space pump | Detail
Source: YourNameHere

1966 | BETH & HERBERT LEVINE | THE MODEL TRACERY SQUARE

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1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Source: Longview News Journal


SPRING JEWELS!


For your most fashionable occasion, the artistry of Herbert Levine is unequalled, unsurpassed! The exquisite beauty of his creations are matched only by their outstanding confort.

(The model) Tracery Square - a Herbert Levine masterpiece in Bone Tracery Calf with matching rhinestone square buckle. $40


Source: Longview News Journal
April 24, 1966



1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Source: Hot Shoes by Maureen Reilly/Collection of Gail Pocock
Erroneously dated circa 1959

1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine
The model Tracery Square
Erroneously dated 1950-1959



BETH & HERBERT LEVINE
FINE SHOES




1966 | Beth & Herbert Levine | detail
The model Tracery Square
Erroneously dated 1950-1959


THIERRY RABOTIN/PARABIAGO COLLEZIONI

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The nice folks at THIERRY RABOTIN let us peek into their world, and we liked what we saw.


2007 | Thierry Rabotin - cover
Published by Parabiago Collezioni


Thierry Rabotin (1950 - 2017) was a fashion designer who decided to work exclusively in the footwear field starting from 1978. Among others, he designed for Robert Clergerie.

He made frequent trips to Italy, and back in 1982 he met Giovanna Ceolini at a shoe factory in Parabiago: the two developed a solid friendship that led to start their own brand in 1987. Later they were joined by Austrian Karlheinz Schlecht, then a footwear buyer director.



L to r | Thierry Rabotin, Karl Schlecht, Giovanna Ceolini
Photograph: Enrico Suà Ummarino
Source: Thierry Rabotin


They all "agreed upon the idea that the most important thing in a shoe must be its comfort and that any innovation, any technical support, any fashion trend must never overlook this axiom." (*)

In 1999 they bought the former Ugo Rossetti shoe factory and founded Parabiago Collezioni under which the brand Thierry Rabotin is operated. Since then, Thierry Rabotin stands for fashion conscious AND comfortable luxury shoes.



Thierry Rabotin
Photograph: Marco Lanza
Source: Thierry Rabotin


Parabiago Collezioni is a family business, a medium size enterprise (75-80 employees) that makes everything in-house, save for a few types of soles and heels. They work with suppliers from the Parabiago district and they don't stray from the formula "100% made in Italy" which means authentic made in Italy, not European-law-made-in-Italy (ie FAKE).

We've been escorted by Karl Schlecht to visit the factory: a clean and modern environment from the offices right down to the packing department. Karl didn't spare information about construction methods, care for details, choice of materials and Parabiago district gossip (just kidding about the last one).



Workers at Parabiago Collezioni | Parabiago, Milan
Photograph: Claudio Mazzoni
Source: Thierry Rabotin

Workers at Parabiago Collezioni | Parabiago, Milan
Photograph: Claudio Mazzoni
Source: Thierry Rabotin


Parabiago Collezioni recently joined effort with other shoe factories and Legnano's Isis Bernocchi School to create a course for footwear technicians. Parabiago Collezioni then hired youngsters who attended the training course and Karl seemed particularly proud about it: 

"They made the footwear program works, at last! We gave our contribution hosting students for on-site training. We don't need no more designers, but very high-skilled shoemakers. "



THIERRY RABOTIN


After the blow of Thierry Rabotin passing, Massimo Balbini - Thierry's assistant - took the role of creative director and recently both Thomas and Andreas Schlecht (Karl and Giovanna's sons) joined the ranks of the company assisting their parents at their best (we know, we saw it).



THIERRY RABOTIN
OFFICIAL WEBSITE

THIERRY RABOTIN
OFFICIAL US WEBSITE

THIERRY RABOTIN
ON INSTAGRAM


FOOTNOTE

Thanks to shoe designer Nancy Osborne who suggested first, then set up the meeting. Nancy started working with Parabiago Collezioni for a sophisticated couture collection.

Huge thanks to Karl Schlecht for his kindness and hospitality: we discovered he is always this kind (Don't miss THIS). 

All the best to everybody at Thierry Rabotin/Parabiago Collezioni, they deserve it.

(*) Text from the book "Thierry Rabotin", published by Parabiago Collezioni, 2007. Time to do another one to celebrate the first twenty years.



Thierry Rabotin
Photograph: Marco Lanza
Source: Thierry Rabotin

Thierry Rabotin/Parabiago Collezioni
Parabiago, Milan

1926 | A PARISIAN MARRIAGE

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1926 | Illustration From Julienne advertising
Source: Les Modes

This holy matrimony can't compare against the marriage of the couple of princes Anna of France and Amadeus of Savoy celebrated two years later, however the two ceremonies had in common the creators of clothes and shoes. 

A certain crowd of curious people attended Roger Villeminot and Arlette Lemoine at the church of Saint-Charles de Monceau in Paris, May 4, 1926. The grandfather of the bride was Gaston Worth, son of the founder of the renowned fashion house and father, as well as of the mother of the bride (Renée Marie Jeanne Lemoine), of Jean Charles and Jacques Worth, head designer and manager of the family business. These kinships obviously raised high expectations on the level of elegance in the ceremony. 


1926 | Marriage of Arlette Lemoine and Roger Villeminot
The group of bridesmaids
Dresses by Worth; Shoes by Julienne

Detail of the shoes by Julienne

"The bride was exquisite in her dress draped in white satin, adorned with a very long train on which stretched the veil of tulle framed by needle stitch. The hairstyle raised murmurs of enthusiasm on her way (…). The three little girls who were walking behind her were dressed, according to a famous Reynolds portrait, in long white muslin dresses, with old pink satin belts and velvet berets of the same tone. 
The eight bridesmaids were identically dressed in silver Salambo, pleated skirts, little sweaters with shawl collar, « régata » tie, big berets of velvet in rose color and bottes of roses in their arms."
"It was noticed that they wore velvet-rose shoes with silver straps, matching exactly with their dress, and the name of Julienne was whispered, who had also made the shoes for Madame Lemoine and Mme. Villeminot, with fabric similar to their toilets"


INTRODUCING
MADAME JULIENNE

MADAME JULIENNE
THE FEMME BOTTIER



The bride's mother Madame Jacques Lemoine, née Worth
Dress by Worth, shoes by Julienne

Source: Les Modes magazine, July 1926

1934 | A GORGEOUS CLOSET

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1934 | Eugene Printz, Shoe rack
Source: Vogue France


"Eugene Printz (1889–1948) was a French designer best known for his groundbreaking wooden seating furniture and cabinetry. Printz’s work is especially notable for its conflation of precious woods with modular and progressive design aesthetics that were at the forefront of early 20th-century innovation. 
Born on June 1, 1889 in Paris, France, he developed an interest in furniture from his father, who made a living building antique replicas in a Parisian workshop. The young Printz worked in his father’s studio during his adolescence before gaining widespread acclaim in 1925 at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts with his own original pieces. 
His Art Deco designs found favor with the European social elite, with notable accomplishments including the furnishing of haute-couture designer Jeanne Lanvin's office and the castle of Grosbois, and today his work can be found in Madonna's New York apartment. Printz died on March 26, 1948 in Paris, France."
[Source: ArtNet]


In 1934 Vogue France published an article about the conception of a modern and rational ensemble of wardrobes in chestnut wood by Eugene Printz ("Une superbe penderie"). It was studied for a beautiful property near Paris.
The room was completed by a chandelier with two levels and a small table, also with two levels and an oval shape. 


1934 | Eugene Printz, Shoe rack
Source: Vogue France

The most interesting part was the shoe rack, containing 72 pairs of shoes, a component still today worthy of the envy of many women.


1934| Eugene Printz, wardrobe overview
Source: Vogue France


JANUARY 27, 2019 | HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY | GIORNATA DELLA MEMORIA

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Towards the end of the Second World War, British aircraft flew over Berlin dropping not bombs, but leaflets. A young woman watched as they floated down as if part of some bizarre ticker-tape celebration. She snatched one from the air as the planes droned on and the anti-aircraft guns thudded around her, and found herself staring at a photograph that was almost as surreal as the scene itself. 

Here were enemy planes that had flown halfway across Europe to fill the air with floating pictures, pictures, she realised, of shoes, mountains of shoes: men’s shoes, women’s children’s shoes. Amidst the broken buildings of Berlin had come this snowstorm of images each with a caption that turned the surreal into the real. All the owners of these shoes, it said, had been killed in the concentration camp at Majdanek.


1942-1944 | Mother's Shoes
Drawing of her mother's shoes by a Jewish teenager in hiding


She had heard rumours of concentration camps, but this was the first evidence of what they might mean. She never doubted the truth of the photographs, never forgot the shock she felt. It was not what was in the pictures but what was not. She felt the pressure of the absence. 

Even to hold the leaflet in her hand, however, was to risk arrest, and the knowledge of that fact in itself seemed to offer confirmation of its truth. It never occurred to her to dismiss it as simple propaganda, The image and the caption had the power to change her sense of the world, to remove what lingering doubt she had about the forces that had shaped her life.

Christopher Bigsby
From: Arthur Miller (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

The woman was photographer Inge Morath, third Arthur Miller’s wife.




TO REMEMBER

PRIMO LEVI [1919-1987]
SURVIVAL IN AUSCHWITZ

1991 | SUSANNA PIERATZKI
BIRTH

2005 | GYULA PAUER & CAN TOGAY
SHOES ON THE DANUBE PROMENADE

THE FOOTPRINTS FOR HOPE
PROJECT

MEMORIAL DAY 2015

MEMORIAL DAY 2016

MEMORIAL DAY 2017

MEMORIAL DAY 2018

A PASSION FOR LASTEX: ANDRE PERUGIA SPEAKS

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1956 | Andre Perugia | The Circlet Boot | Lastex & Mink
I.Miller Dept. At Carson Pirie Scott. & Co. | Chicago
Photograph: Guy Bourdin

The Lastex yarn was invented in the early 1930s by the Adamson Brothers, a company owned by the US Rubber Company. Their aim was to give all kinds of woven or knitted fabrics the possibility to stretch or shrink in such a way that the articles adapt perfectly to the wearer's conformity, giving a more comfortable feeling and lasting longer. At first they were mainly used for girdles, corsets and other women's underwear, but its use spread easily to other areas. 

André Perugia experimented new shapes and materials throughout his long career. A recurring theme was the use of elastic materials to create new fashionable and original models, so he also used the Lastex yarn many times in his collections. In the 50s the choice of Lastex became more recurrent.

In this interview of 1958 for Vogue France he explained his vision of this material:
(Translation by TheHistorialist) 

In my next collection, 25 to 30% of my models will feature the Lastex Yarn. This proportion will probably increase considerably afterwards. 

Is it a new fashion? 

Exactly. It takes two or three years for a fashion to be born. This one - which I launched in the United States - is spreading rapidly in France. The success of my recent creations "Filés Lastex" testifies to this. 

What do you think of the "elastic" formula for shoes? 

I believe in it, I love it and I work to spread it. It is a formula of the future because it answers a need. It is practical.



1958 | André Perugia
At the Msusée de la Chaussure, Romans sur Isère
Source: Instagram - Métiers du cuir


Compared to leather, what are its advantages? 

The same: solidity, duration, comfort, elegance. With the elasticity in addition. But, almost always, I combine the virtues of leather with those of the Lastex Yarn, elastic fabrics being placed in strategic places. 

What are they ? 

Where great flexibility is sustainable. On the instep, for example. No more shoes with the quarters open when an elastic fabric underlies the circumference. No longer inextensible straps, compressing the flesh. 

But is the foot supported? 

The Lastex fabrics used are studied for a certain elasticity that has nothing to do with the softness of a slipper. 

Who invented the elastic shoe? 

I believe that I was the first to have the idea; as early as 1932, I filed a patent for elastic shoe. 


With his last statement Perugia referred to a patent for a transparent, elastic coating of acetyl cellulose applied as a protective cover for leather, fabrics etc. made of cellulose acetate, acetone, crystallised acetic acid, benzyl alcohol, tiacetin and castor oil. Probably not very fashionable, but it gives an idea of his experience on this matter.


ANDRE PERUGIA
BOTTIER DE LUXE
D O S S I E R




1960 | Andre Perugia
Buckle-less pump with lace in Lastex yarn
Photograph: Guy Bourdin

NICOLAS GRECO | PARIS | INDEX

VALENTINE'S DAY | SAN VALENTINO

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Andy Warhol
With All My Love Shoes
Mixed media drawing, watercolour, silver paint, and black ink
Source: Liveauctioneers


JUST A FOUR 

1967 | BOUTIQUE CHANTAL (PARABIAGO) DESIGNED BY GIORGINA CASCONE

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1967 | Boutique Chantal (Parabiago, Milan)
Designed by Georgina Cascone
Source: Nostra Signora La Moda by Amelia Bottero (Mursia, 1979) [*]

1967 | Boutique Chantal (Parabiago, Milan)
Designed by Georgina Cascone
Source: Moda In Pelle magazine (#1 - 1967)

1967 | Boutique Chantal (Parabiago, Milan)
Designed by Georgina Cascone
Source: Nostra Signora La Moda by Amelia Bottero (Mursia, 1979) [*]

1967 | Boutique Chantal (Parabiago, Milan)
Designed by Georgina Cascone
Source: Moda In Pelle magazine (#1 - 1967)


[*]

"Nostra Signora La Moda" (Our Lady The Fashion) is a rarely mentioned - if ever - book that must be regarded as a cornerstone for those who study the history of the Italian fashion system.

In this case, however, they date the Cascone drawing 1968 while it's actually the year before; a minor glitch along with a few others that does not detract to the overall monumental research.


You Must See This
TheHistorialist



1967 | Boutique Chantal (Parabiago, Milan)
Designed by Georgina Cascone
Source: Moda In Pelle magazine (#1 - 1967)

THE ARTICULATED SOLE | PART 3 | FEAT. BALLY OF SWITZERLAND

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WOODEN SOLES SHOES ON LONDON MARKET

London, September 24, 1942
Wartime Fashion Note For Women.

Wooden soled shoes, decorated in gay colours and made comfortable and noiseless by leather or rubber innersoles and inserts, are now reaching the market and are much in demand.

Innersoles with which the new footwear is equipped fit the foot as snugly as ordinary shoes, the manufacturers assert, and the leather or rubber insets in the soles make them virtually noiseless.
Their manufacture is being promoted by the Board of Trade to save shoe leather.

The News (Paterson, New Jersey)
September 24, 1942



1944 | Bally Of Switzerland
Wooden Soled Clogs
Source: The Miami News - September 22, 1944



We wrote in details of the history of the articulated sole and its variation, the split platform, but now thanks to a recent acquisition by Tracy Dolphin - of Miss Rayne fame - we can match an actual model with the 1938 patent by Léandre Grégoire Renaldo and Joseph Sciroppo.



Above: Léandre Grégoire Renaldo/Joseph Sciroppo
Split platform paperwork (Filed December 8, 1938 - Granted June 26, 1939)
Below: Tracy Dolphin's Bally Of Switzerland


During WW2 the Perugia-style articulated sole and the split-platform coexisted and Bally Of Switzerland (as it was known back then) manufactured both; advertisements of the period 1941 - 1943 prove it and place this historical piece in that time frame.


Above: Léandre Grégoire Renaldo/Joseph Sciroppo
Split platform paperwork (Filed December 8, 1938 - Granted June 26, 1939)
Below: Tracy Dolphin's Bally Of Switzerland


As noted above, the articulated sole was a clever workaround to wartime leather scarcity and - besides Bally - all the major manufacturers produced it including I. Miller and Delman. Here below the articulated sole made by New York's Sterling Last Corporation (later to be assembled at the I.Miller factory) paired with Dophin's Bally.



Above: 1943 | articulated sole by Sterling Last Corporation
Source: Popular Science - June 1943
Below: Tracy Dolphin's Bally Of Switzerland



THE ARTICULATED SOLE/SPLIT PLATFORM TIMELINE

The Etruscan Sandal

1893

1929

1938/1943


1941 - 1943 | Bally Of Switzerland: a museum piece.
Photograph: Tracy Dolphin
Source: Miss Rayne/Tracy Dolphin

THE SHOEMAKER FRATTEGIANI | FLORENCE | PART 2

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Although almost forgotten today, Frattegiani was at the forefront of post-WW2 Italian renaissance of hand-made crafts. The following text, written by costume journalist Edyth Radom, outlines Frattegiani's history starting from their humble beginning.

The art of handicraft is indigenous to foreign countries where beautiful embroidery, weaving, beadwork, the making of glass, lace and shoemaking are frequently family affairs, with many a craft-secret handed down from generation to generation, and kept inviolate through the years. 
Italy has always been known for her shoe craftsmen. Even in America, the little Italian “shoemaker around the corner” is likely to be a potential designer. Many a shoe dynasty has evolved through the elder member of a family who started with simple repairing, which gradually grew into custom designing and creating of fine footwear. 



1955 | Frattegiani | Florence
Kid, sailcloth and raffia sandals with cork soles
Source: Chicago Tribune, April 1955

Such is the story of Frattegiani, creators of some of the most beautiful, imaginative and refreshing shoes we have ever seen, in Europe or America. Fifty years ago, Frattegiani “padre” (senior) was a modest shoemaker in Florence. He had a penchant for design, and after 20 years worked up a custom business. Today he is retired, but his son and his daughter in their early 40’s, who worked with him and learned the craft, carry on the tradition of fabulous shoe designing.


1955 | Frattegiani | Florence
Kid, sailcloth and raffia sandals with cork soles
Source: Chicago Tribune, April 1955

The factory, with its 50 craftsmen, and another shop, are in Florence. But their shop in Rome, where they carry a minimum stock of all the designs on the line, is also a most fascinating place. Here you select your shoes, try them on, have an outline of your foot drawn while you loll in one of the ample lounge chairs covered in gay prints. 
There are small white wrought iron tables and shelves trimmed with colorful ceramic leaves to match the huge branched chandelier and the several branched floor lamps, these of all white wrought iron too, and gay with green, lavender, pink, blue, turquoise ceramic leaves.


1955 | Frattegiani
Florence
Source: Ars Sutoria


Sample shoes, divine straw handbags lined in leather, lie carelessly about in seeming abandon. The atmosphere is informal, relaxed and gay. And gaiety is the keynote of the shoes. You get the idea that shoes are a gay business, as indeed they are. They fit magnificently… seem to mold themselves to the foot, not the foot to the shoe.


Handmade of course, you also wonder about the streamlined look they have, remembering that most of the shoes you’ve seen in Italy have a flat, squat, broad, ungraceful look. The answer is that Frattegiani uses American sizes and lasts. All resemblance ends there.

Edith Radom
Hartford Courant Aug, 7, 1952



"Florentine Craftsmen Turn Shoemaking Into Fine Art" was the article's title and that alone sums it up nicely.



THE SHOEMAKER FRATTEGIANI
PART 1



1958 | Frattegiani | Florence
Source: MET

1952 - 1956 | FRATTEGIANI HEELS: CERAMIC, MOSAIC, CORK, YOU NAME IT.

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Most exciting and unusual however, are the ceramic heels and trims. There's a divine black suede single-eyelet oxford-tie with a flat gold embossed ceramic heel. They’re soft as only antelope can be. Yes, they’re wearable and practical. (at least we hope so: we ordered them because they were irresistible!).


In the lower portion of the photograph are some resort shoes that are extremely popular at Capri, they have pastel ceramic flat heels and a ceramic flower on the straps. 
Edyth Radom
Source: Hartford Courant - August 7, 1952


1952 | Frattegiani
Ceramic Heels
Source: Hartford Courant - October 9, 1952


The black suede oxford had really caught the journalist's attention so that a few months later she pitched them again:

And we hope you’ll excuse the play on words, but way back in July we filed a story from Rome, Italy, on some of the most exciting shoes we’d seen in years, originals by Frattegiani custom-designers and creators of beautiful footwear. (…) 
Since our return, many have asked us “do you mean, real, honest-to-goodness ceramic? Pottery? And the anwer is "yes, honest-to-goodness ceramic heels". We’ve been waiting with the utmost impatience for them to arrive and at long last they did, just a few days ago, and we feature them because we thought you might like to see them. They’re soft as only antelope can be, conform to the foot and feel light as air.

So, please find them here below and share the excitement.


1952 | Frattegiani
Porcelain heel by Richard Ginori - Doccia, Florence


Ceramic heels were not a seasonal fad for Frattegiani, rather a mark of distinction dutifully noted over the years:

ROME MEMO ON FASHIONS 
Heels are admitted to Roman society - when they bear the mark of Frattegiani at 50, via Sistina. Most exclusive are his famous porcelain heels specially designed by Florentine craftsmen.

These platforms and spikes in pastel-toned embossed flowers are often matched by three-dimensional porcelain blossoms on the toe. Most sophisticated are the plain gold heels with incrusted star motifs on black ballet pumps.

Surfaces of other Frattegiani heels are inspired by artists who put on paint with a knife-rough shaggy slices of color that meet and combine in abstract shapes. The same technique in gold resembles crumpled lame set with semi-precious stones in every fold.

Monique
The Philadelphia Enquirer - November 25, 1954



Ceramic Heels by Frattegiani (detail)
At the Exhibition "Bellissima. L'Italia dell'alta moda 1945-1968"
Source: Rossa

Later Frattegiani pushed the concept even further with the following stilettos encrusted with tiny ceramic tiles.


1956 | Frattegiani | Florence
Mosaic Heels
Photograph: JSS/Keystone

The original caption of the above press photograph reads like this:

ARTISTIC SHOE HEELS MADE OF MOSAIC ...
NEW STYLES FROM ITALY
 
Sep. 09, 1956 ­ Artistic Show heels made Mosaic new styles from Italy.. Frattegiani the famous Florentine shoe stylist­s the creator of these unique shoe heels which are made of colourful mosaic­ in true Italian Style.


And then there's cork...


1955 | Frattegiani | Florence
Kid, sailcloth and raffia sandals with cork soles

Today’s Fashion 
Raffia and velvet wide-circle skirts are being sold to Texas women who love the ordinary patio skirts. The Italian imports are made of alternate rows of straw and velvet ribbon, hand-embroidered with flowers or geometric emblems. 
Sling straw sandals by Frattegiani are bare on top and cork-heeled on bottom. They make nice compliments to the straw skirts. 
The Journal News | June 23, 1955
White Plains, New York


FRATTEGIANI | FLORENCE
I N D E X



1955 | Frattegiani | Florence
Kid, sailcloth and raffia sandals with cork soles

1953 | FRATTEGIANI | SUNNY-LIVING FASHIONS: SO EASY… SO BREEZY

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1953 | Raffia-covered wedges by Frattegiani (Florence)
Source: The Baltimore Sun - June 14, 1953


SUNNY LIVING FASHIONS. SO EASY ... SO BREAZY
"These are the sun dresses you’ll wear on vacations, on week-ends, to town or work with their jackets on:  

- Smooth cotton broadcloth with striped Everglaze cotton jacket, grey or navy, 12 or 20 an 14 ½ to 22 ½, 17.95 $

- Sheer cotton jacquard with marquisette yoke, rose, blue or green, 12 to 20, 22.95 " 
Source: Hochshild Kohn advertising | Baltimore Sun

So, pair then with your raffia-covered Frattegiani wedges and you won't be mistaken.




1953 | Sun dresses and Frattegiani wedges
Source: The Baltimore Sun - June 14, 1953


FRATTEGIANI (FLORENCE)
I N D E X



1953 | Raffia-covered wedges by Frattegiani (Florence) | Detail
Source: The Baltimore Sun - June 14, 1953

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