There are many wonderful things about Italy: the food, the art, the history, and the culture. I came to Italy to experience all these things. However, you cannot think about Italy without also thinking about the influential fashion houses that originated here. Versace, Missoni, Gucci, Pucci, Armani, Valentino, Fendi, Dolce & Gabana, Prada, Miu Miu, Salvatore Ferragamo. The list goes on and on.
When I came to Florence, my mission from the outset was to go to two fashion museums here: the new Gucci Museum and the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum. I luckily found a like-minded individual to share in my celebration of all things high fashion and culture, Margaret Rettinger. We then donned our newly purchased Zara dresses and leather jackets and set off to experience the finer side of Italian life.
Our first stop was the Gucci Museum. This museum opened its doors in September of 2011 and had three chic floors. The ground floor was the travel section of the collection. It had beautiful antique luggage pieces and even a Gucci Cadillac! The next level was evening wear, handbags, flora prints, contemporary art space, and jewelry. One of my favorite things on this level was the collection of evening gowns Hollywood starlets had worn that were on display. You can’t truly appreciate how intricately these couture dresses are made until you’re really close up. So much detail! The final level was sport, lifestyle, and logomania. We ended our tour of the Gucci Museum by having lunch at the café attached to the museum.
After our very deliciously chic lunch, we headed off for the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum. It was in the bottom of the HUGE Ferragamo store near the Ponte Vecchio. This museum was considerably smaller than Gucci’s but certainly not less fun. They had all these beautiful shoes on display that had been made for famous fashionistas through the ages like Carmen Miranda, Audrey Hepburn (a personal favorite), Judy Garland, Meryl Streep, and Lady Gaga. It was awesome seeing all the molds of their feet that had been made to perfectly fit the shoe. There were also quotes around the museum by Salvatore Ferragamo that were very entertaining. In one of them, he talks about how there are three kinds of women in the world. The first are the Cinderella’s and they wear shoes smaller than a 6. Venuses are women who wear a size 6 (that would be me!!). The final group of women are the Aristocrats who wear a size larger than 6. I thought that that quote was very entertaining and a solid description of the different types of women.
I know visiting fashion museums maybe isn’t the most academic pursuit but it provided a refreshing glimpse into the pop culture side of modern Italy. It was definitely one of my favorite things I’ve done so far on my own during this trip and it will be greatly cherished for years to come. To anyone travelling to Florence: visit the Gucci and Salvatore Ferragamo museums!
– Catherine Anne Culbertson
Italy 2012
