Mumbai: Salvatore Ferragamo has announced its collaboration with costume designer Catherine Martin to create Nicole Kidman’s shoe wardrobe for the upcoming film Australia, which is directed by Baz Lurhmann and released last week. Drawing from period references and originals from the Salvatore archive, the design team created a wardrobe rich in historical content and detail.
In the film, Kidman plays a 1940s aristocrat who embarks upon an epic journey. While trying to save her ranch, Faraway Downs, from a takeover plot, she joins forces with a rough-hewn stock- man (played by Hugh Jackman) to drive 2000 cattle across Australia, only to face the bombing of Darwin by the same Japanese forces who had months earlier attacked Pearl Harbour. From a classic wedge worn at social gatherings at Faraway Downs to a riding boot worn for a cattle drive across the unforgiving landscape of the Outback, to an evening sandal featured at the Governor’s Ball in Darwin, Ferragamo’s designers, overseen by Women’s Accessories director James Ferragamo, created a range of exceptional one-of-a-kind shoes for Kidman’s character, Lady Sarah Ashley.
"We are extremely proud and honored to work with the visionary filmmakers, director Luhrmann and designer Martin. We were very confident that, through their passion and creativity, they would realize an unprecedented vision." stated James . "My grandfather, Salvatore, began his career working in costume design for the American Film Company, a precursor to Twentieth Century Fox, so it is only fitting that we carry on his name and our company’s heritage by collaborating once again on a film from Fox."
James continued, "In fact, in The Covered Wagon (1923) one of the first films that my grandfather worked on, he created a pair of riding boots. These archival boots were referenced when creating the riding boots for Nicole Kidman’s character."
The deep Ferragamo red that features in the evening sandal worn by Kidman’s character during the pivotal Governor’s Ball scene was already something of a House signature in the ’40s. And the ribbed wedge detail featured in the shoe worn by Lady Sarah Ashley at her homestead on Faraway Downs derives from a style created originally for Katherine Hepburn.
Each of the exquisite models is created entirely by hand and will join fashion history with other famous designs by Salvatore. Kidman’s glamorous evening sandal, in ruched deep red velvet with stingray accents, will be unveiled and offered for sale as a limited-edition style at Ferragamo stores worldwide. Sold in distinctive and collectible packaging and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity that tells the history and unique features of the piece, the limited edition shoe will return to the company’s archives at the Salvatore Ferragamo museum at Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence , Italy once it is sold out.
Salvatore Ferragamo is one of the world’s best known ‘Made in Italy ‘ luxury brands. Originally founded in 1927, and achieving fame as the ‘shoemaker to the stars’ in Hollywood , Salvatore Ferragamo opened his ‘ Hollywood boot shop’ and ultimately, famous names such as Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Sofia Loren became devoted customers. Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence , Italy has housed the headquarters of Ferragamo since 1938, along with the flagship store. The Ferragamo museum, which comprises a collection of over 13,000 models of shoes created by Salvatore Ferragamo, is also located within the Palazzo.
