When he left Italy for the US, Salvatore Ferragamo had a great dream: to create women’s footwear that would be comfy and stylish at the same time. He made it come true by studying anatomy to find the best wearability and experimenting with unusual materials such as cork or nylon.
In 2016, the lead was taken by English Paul Andrew, the womenswear creative director, now in charge of all the Italian brand’s lines. Not an easy challenge to meet in a fashion house with such a strong heritage, where the shoemaker’s archive is quite relevant and the brand itself is a synonym for innovation, high-quality craftsmanship and exclusivity.
Many different facets coexist in this single label, ever-shifting just like the world we live in. This was actually the inspiration for the latest women’s footwear collection created by the designer.
Called “Refracted”, it features five models coming in different styles and a wide range of colors and details (nappa leather, patent leather, suede and satin with crystal embroideries), but sharing a common element: the heel.
Available in three heights (1 cm, 5.5 cm and 8 cm), the heel boasts a bold, laser-carved design shape with irregular triangular facets. It is constructed from a durable, yet ultralight plastic coated with a galvanized metallic shell that refracts light.
Bound to become the new cult accessories, these shoes are already available on Salvatore Ferragamo’s online store.
As Paul Andrew explained
the Refracted follows the Flower heel, which was itself based on the revolutionary 1939 Column heel designed by Salvatore Ferragamo. With this design I wanted to propose a reflection of the world around us in 2019. The heel is designed to showcase the beauty of irregularity and variousness – a core element of the Patchwork of Characters philosophy that has been guiding our design team for several seasons now – by allowing for the play of light and surface in apparently random manner. Every time you look at a Refracted heel it will appear different. This is not its flaw, but its power
