You can’t buy these shoes without knowing the story behind them. Sure, they’re elegant, in an Old World, spaghetti Bolognese, “Where’s Michael?” kind of way. “But what’s with those specks of paint?” someone might ask you. “What kind of an animal would paint while wearing full-grain Italian calfskin shoes?” Although there are many expensive men’s shoes that now bear his name, Salvatore Ferragamo (1898-1960) designed only one style for men in his lifetime, and you’re looking at it.
Andy Warhol owned a pair and, naturally, he painted in them. And then Warhol died. And then, in 2006, the Ferragamo family bought those paint-specked Warhol shoes at an auction. And now, authorized copies are available for $990 at the Ferragamo flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York.
