Love Affairs in Melbourne-Chapter 189 - 186 Dinner (6)

"I feel that this investigation is unnecessary," Yan Yan thought, "and it’s not worth wasting manpower and resources on such a survey.

Besides fake children like myself, there are many real children who are reluctant to go to the children’s shoe section to buy shoes.

With the wearability of Ferragamo, it’s completely feasible to produce smaller sizes to let fashionable mothers walk the streets with their equally fashionable children.

Isn’t just the thought of that scene already starting to feel wonderful?

In this world, there can’t be many little girls who haven’t walked in their mother’s high heels, unless their mother never had high heels to begin with.

Instead of letting little girls’ beauty stop at imitating their mothers, why not directly produce smaller shoes and realize their dreams?" Yan Yan believed that the rights of "fake children" and "real children" were equally important.

"Your perspective is quite unique, and your ideas are interesting. In my opinion, you are more suited for branding rather than being a shoemaker," the director referred to Yan Yan as a shoemaker, acknowledging her capabilities.

After all, the brand Salvatore Ferragamo has been dedicated to inheriting the spirit of craftsmanship from the beginning.

Of course, than chatting with an intern designer, the brand director was more eager to find a suitable brand assistant for himself.

"Thank you for your recognition.

Deep down in my heart, I have always believed that there is no conflict between branding and shoemaking.

Just like Mr. Salvatore Ferragamo, who was not only a genius shoemaker but also a master of branding," Yan Yan expressed her point of view.

The brand director gestured with his eyes for Yan Yan to continue.

"Although Mr. Salvatore was recognized as an Italian brand and designer, his shoe-making dream actually took off in the United States.

At the age of thirteen, Salvatore had already begun making shoes under his name, showing his talent in shoemaking.

At sixteen, Mr. Salvatore opened a small shoe repair shop in the United States, and by the time he was under twenty, he began making prop shoes for Hollywood movies.

In 1939’s "The Wizard of Oz," a film that shot Judy Garland to fame and provided the muse for Mr. Salvatore’s inspiration for the wedge heel, featured an essential prop shoe.

The protagonist escaped the witch’s attacks and saved the Munchkins while wearing a pair of ruby slippers.

Those ruby prop shoes were made by Mr. Salvatore’s own hands.

From his twenties, Mr. Salvatore Ferragamo’s fans ranged from Hollywood stars to social elites, even including many royals and aristocrats.

To me, marketing was, for Mr. Salvatore, a natural talent just like shoemaking.

The foundation of the Ferragamo brand must have been established during that time." Chatting, especially about a field she wanted to delve deeply into, was something Yan Yan was adept at.

"Are you interested in movies from that era?" The brand director asked Yan Yan.

Given Yan Yan’s age, movies from that era were far too outdated. When Yan Yan was born, movies were no longer exclusive to Hollywood.

Movies had long since become fast-food entertainment, with too many released each year for anyone to keep up with just the new releases.

"I’m only interested in the prop shoes from that period in the movies." Everyone has their own interests when watching movies; some focus on the visuals, some on the story, some on the editing, but Yan Yan uniquely loved old movies, paying attention only to the shoes featured in them.

Her passion for shoes far exceeded her interest in the films themselves.

"Then you must know, compared to another pair of prop shoes he personally crafted, Judy Garland’s pair could be considered relatively unknown," the brand director began to engage in a lively exchange with Yan Yan.

He thought that the fame of the shoes Yan Yan mentioned earlier did not sufficiently showcase the contributions Mr. Salvatore Ferragamo made to Hollywood.

"I know which pair of shoes you’re referring to.

The most famous prop shoes made by Mr. Salvatore Ferragamo were likely those worn by Marilyn Monroe in ’The Seven Year Itch.’

When people think of Marilyn Monroe, the first thing that comes to mind is the iconic scene where she holds down her skirt.

I remember she stood over a subway grate, and a gust of wind from a passing train blew up her pleated skirt.

The 10.16-centimeter stiletto heels that Monroe wore in that memorable image were from Salvatore Ferragamo." With Yan Yan’s understanding of the Ferragamo brand, she certainly wouldn’t have overlooked those shoes.

"You remember the exact height of the heel?" The brand director was not surprised by the year Yan Yan mentioned, but the precise measurement of the heel height in millimeters was indeed unexpected, as most people only remember it being about ten centimeters.

"Mr. Salvatore designed at least 40 pairs of high heels for Marilyn Monroe, each with an exact heel height of 10.16 centimeters. (note 1)

I think this must have been what the ’shoe inventor’ Mr. Salvatore considered the sexiest heel height for a sex symbol." Yan Yan was truly knowledgeable about her passion.

"Right, there were also the strappy ballet flats worn by Audrey Hepburn in ’Roman Holiday,’ which were Ferragamo’s Haute Couture. Seriously speaking, they should be a bit more famous than Judy Garland’s ruby slippers." Despite the age difference, the brand director found he actually had something in common to talk about with this young intern.

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note 1:

Many of Salvatore Ferragamo’s shoemaking philosophies have become benchmarks for future generations.

For example, most of Jimmy Choo’s high heels also adopt a ten-centimeter height.

On a side note, the pleated dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in "The Seven Year Itch," which I just mentioned, was auctioned for 4.6 million US Dollars in 2011. Based on the exchange rate at the time, that was 28.732 million RMB before taxes, and the final after-tax price reached 5.52 million US Dollars, approximately 34.478 million RMB.

However, the jaw-dropping price of 4.6 million US Dollars for a single dress was surpassed in 2016 by the nude, rhinestone-studded dress that Marilyn Monroe wore three months before her death while singing "Happy Birthday" to then President John Kennedy for his 45th birthday celebration. That dress was auctioned for a price of 4.8 million US Dollars.

But the value of 4.6 million US Dollars in 2011 felt somewhat more significant than that of 4.8 million US Dollars in 2016.