A Regola d’Arte.
“The craftsman is not just a person who works with his trade well, in workmanlike manner, who puts a lot of personal commitment into it, who takes care over detail, who thinks how much he could grow by improving his skills, if only he had enough time, but above all who is gratified by what he does”
Inspred by
“The Craftsman”
by Richard Sennett
The craftsman is not just one who works with his hands, but one who does his trade well, in a workmanlike manner, who puts a lot of personal commitment into it, who takes care over details, who is innovative, who thinks how much he could grow by improving his skills if only he had enough time, but who, above all, is gratified by what he does. From this strong, countercurrent message from American sociologist and New York University professor, Richard Sennett, comes the inspiration for this exhibitions. Drawing on the history of an Italian company such as Ferragamo, it would like to provide an opportunity to reflect on the values that have allowed an enterprise well-rooted in Florence’s arts and crafts tradition to keep this DNA intact, even throughout the difficult transition to industrial production.
The exhibition falls in 2010, a year that marks an important anniversary for the Ferragamo company, fifty years from the death of its founder and the moment when his wife, Wanda, and their six children took over the reins of the business. Following rapid success in the North American market as a result of Salvatore Ferragamo’s creativity and genius, the company was established in Florence in 1928, rising to eminence in the international fashion market as specialist makers of handcrafted shoes for women.
In its inimitable style, the Ferragamo family wanted to celebrate this period in an original way: by underscoring how much the management, production and distribution aspects of the company’s growth and evolution have been due to the people who have worked at and for Ferragamo.
Photographer of the exhibition:
my Academy’s professor Guglielmo de Micheli.
A good teacher and person.
