Ferragamo Museum celebrates Marilyn Monroe

A star of the cinema, a woman loved the world over, a beauty icon, but standing hopelessly alone before her own destiny. Platinum blonde, she was a vulnerable Venus venerated by men of importance, she was sensual, naïve and a genius of intuitiveness.

This was Marilyn Monroe, and in honor of the 50th anniversary of her death, the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum is dedicating a special exhibition entitled “After Greta Garbo - The mysteries of style”. Salvatore Ferragamo, one of the most well known high fashion Florentine stylists and brands will tell the tale of a timeless Hollywood icon. The exhibition is curated by Stefania Ricci and Sergio Risaliti and will be held from June 20th 2012 – January 28th 2013 at the Museum of Via Tornabuoni in Florence.
 

There is a thread that connects the star to the Florentine fashion house: Salvatore Ferragamo is in fact the owner (since 1999) of 14 pairs of shoes created by himself, which belonged to and were worn by the actress, purchased at auction through Christie's. Shoes that dressed the feet of a breathtaking beauty are immortalized in memorable photographs of her everyday life. Shoes, in short, who helped create the legend of Marilyn. "The size of the foot might reveal the character of its owner. I divided the women who have come to me into three categories: the Cinderella, the Venus, and Aristocratic... The Venus is usually very beautiful, charming and sophisticated, yet behind the shimmering exterior there lies a housewife, lover of simple things. Since these two characteristics are contradictory, the Venus is often misunderstood: she is accused of loving luxury and the frivolous." Thus Salvatore Ferragamo, in his autobiography, describes the prototype of woman who dons size 6. But is he perhaps hinting at Marilyn, the loyal customer who is remembered for being able to parade in those daring 11 cm stiletto heels?   

To accompany the exhibition, 30 pairs of shoes and over 50 outfits belonging to the actress will be displayed. These are from movies she worked on, from her private life, memorable public events, accessories and clothing that have become actual cult objects, highly sought after by collectors around the world and purchased at auction houses at sky-high prices. 

 

Also on display are original film reels and documentation that can help us understand another side of the icon, not the dizzy, sexy blonde but rather a woman of our times, “a whirlwind of fervent energy,” as Cristina Comencini writes in the catalog of the show, “talent and self confidence collide with desperation, weakness and fear… a creature who is well aware of herself, of her power, and yet inside still a child, a victim of someone else’s wrongdoing”.