The Ferragamo Museum Honors the Remarkable Life of Wanda Ferragamo with its New Exhibition
Following her husband’s death in 1960, Wanda Ferragamo decided to take control of the business that Salvatore Ferragamo had established in Florence, Italy, in the late 1920s. She continued Salvatore’s legacy while simultaneously expanding the brand, which shifted from a shoemaking workshop to having a complete ready-to-wear offering. In fact, the mother of six devotedly committed to making her husband’s longtime wish of entirely dressing up women come true.
The tragic event that marked her life and that of her family prompted her to become a successful businesswoman who took the reins of her husband’s namesake company for almost 60 years until her death in 2018. Therefore, the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum honours her journey with its current exhibition, which will be held until 18 April 2023 at Palazzo Spini Feroni in the heart of Florence.
Since Wanda was reluctant to openly talk about herself and flaunt her achievements, the museum found a way to commemorate her by not only portraying her success as a clever entrepreneur and a dedicated mother but by also including the stories of other Italian women during the time of the ‘economic miracle’ between 1955 and 1965 in the European country.
Italy went through major social and economic changes after World War II, one of them being the integration of women into different work fields without leaving their personal and family aspirations to oblivion. Thus, the exhibition delves into the different roles that Italian women were assuming and examines how these women were finding their places in society by questioning themselves, their daily activities, and their choices.
Moreover, ‘Women in Balance’ puts the lens on gender-based roles and how women were striving to gain recognition in cultural, scientific, political, and economical working fields without losing merit for their capability to be devoted wives and mothers. In addition, they were proving that both creativity and productivity were needed to build a strong republic.
Furthermore, the exhibition subtly questions how these gender relationships are being perceived today and reflect on how the pandemic has been an opportunity to reconsider several aspects of society, especially those related to equality.
The display is divided into various rooms, each dedicated to a particular topic regarding women’s roles in post-war society. There is an area that depicts the common middle-class domestic space in a dollhouse model, showing how women used to portray their identities through furnishing and personalization. A large space is dedicated to the new purpose that the kitchen served in the house, as women could skillfully express all the knowledge they were gathering. A bigger area includes iconic work elements representing the different jobs that women were assuming.
Additionally, there is the ‘teenager room’, which reflects the younger generations’ attitudes, activities, and styles, especially when wanting to escape from their parents, gather with their friends and reflect on certain topics, such as freedom, identity, relationships, and desires.
Finally, fashion and identity during the late 1950s are represented in the last space. Italian fashion began to gain international recognition during this period, and a significant shift occurred in the industry as the ready-to-wear sector appeared. This room also includes some garments that reflected the social changes that Italian women were going through: there were less constricting pieces, looser silhouettes, pants and knitwear for more comfort, and smaller heels and flats replacing pumps and stilettos. Fashion was indeed adapting to the contemporary social conditions that made women adopt new behaviours, like aiming to be elegant while opting for comfort, as they were now working and travelling while at the same time taking her of their families.
