Salvatore Ferragamo's 1947 nylon-thread sandal, the F-shaped sole, the Neiman Marcus Award
In 1947 Salvatore Ferragamo built a sandal whose straps were transparent nylon thread, on a sole cut in the shape of an F. It won the Neiman Marcus Award for Distinguished Services the same year.
He had gone to California in the late 1920s and made shoes for Hollywood, and while he was there he studied anatomy at the University of Southern California, then mathematics and chemical engineering, to work out why shoes hurt.
The museum that holds a pair calls it his ingenuity in exploring unusual materials.
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The post, as it ran
01IN 1947 SALVATORE FERRAGAMO MADE A SANDAL WITH STRAPS OF TRANSPARENT NYLON THREAD, SO THE FOOT LOOKED BARE.
02THE SOLE WAS CUT IN THE SHAPE OF AN F. THE NYLON DID THE HOLDING.
03IT WON HIM THE NEIMAN MARCUS AWARD FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICES THAT SAME YEAR.
04HE HAD LEARNED THE FOOT PROPERLY. IN CALIFORNIA HE STUDIED ANATOMY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.
05HE WENT ON TO STUDY MATHEMATICS AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TOO.
06HE HAD ARRIVED THERE IN THE LATE 1920S, MAKING SHOES FOR HOLLYWOOD: POLA NEGRI, LILLIAN GISH, BARBARA LA MARR.
07A PAIR OF THE NYLON SANDALS IS HELD IN THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM.