The Ferragamo Comic Book
“This company understands art,” famed illustrator Frank Espinosa said in no uncertain terms yesterday morning inside the Ferragamo 5th Avenue Flagship store. He was presenting his latest work, “Salvatore Ferragamo: Making of a Dream,” a beautifully illustrated story of how Salvatore Ferragamo came to be, which can also be read in long form in Shoemaker of Dreams: the Autobiography of Salvatore Ferragamo). They’re calling the glossy book a comic, which it kind of is, but the images translate as fine art. Espinosa, whose own father was a cobbler, favored a collage technique in acrylic, gouache on pencil and india ink to capture, quite literally, the spirit of a shoemaker sewing together his masterpiece. There’s a noticeable lack of “neatness,” an attribute Espinosa says mirrors the messiness of an actual shoe factory. You can pick up a copy, sure to be a collector’s item, for just $9 now only at the 5th Avenue Ferragamo store in NYC. While there, also admire the stunning comic book window displays and Esponisa artwork throughout the store.
If you happen to be jet setting through Milan this summer, or really until March 2014, you can also check out some of Espinosa’s prints, along side a lot of other history Ferragamo goodies at the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo. The Amazing Shoemaker—Fairytales and Legends about Shoes and Shoemakers is an exhibit that also tells the unlikely story of Salvatore Ferragamo.
Related: Garrett Neff in Ferragamo
