Greta Garbo, Divine Icon of Style

In many ways Salvatore Ferragamo’s story is a bit like a movie plot with a protagonist who manages to turn the dream of a life – becoming a famous shoe designer – true.

It was only natural then for Massimiliano Giornetti, Ferragamo’s creative director, to get the inspiration for the Autumn/Winter 2010-11 collection from the house’s most famous clients, the actresses who so much loved Ferragamo’s shoes, and in particular from Greta Garbo.

Giornetti’s luxurious trench coats, capes and suits characterised by clean lines and matched with fedora hats referenced the style of Garbo, the timeless icon.

Ferragamo’s connection with the Swedish actress continues in an exhibition that has just opened at Milan’s Triennale.

Sponsored by the Italian fashion label, “Greta Garbo. Il mistero dello stile” (Greta Garbo. The Mystery of Style) traces the connections between Salvatore Ferragamo and the Swedish actress while showcasing also film costumes, rare garments and accessories from the actress’s own wardrobe.

Born in 1898 near Naples, Ferragamo moved to America when he was just 16. Working first in Santa Barbara and then in Hollywood, he soon became popular among many motion picture actresses.

In 1927, just before going back to Italy and setting up his business in Florence, Ferragamo created a pair of made-to-measure shoes for Greta Garbo.

Many years passed before the shoe designer and “The Divine” met again: in 1949, the actress visited Ferragamo’s shop in Florence. Since she didn’t have any proper shoes, but only a pair of cord sandals, she turned to the designer for help. In five sittings Ferragamo designed for her a series of low-heeled shoes, among them also a red calfskin sandal with ankle straps that the actress simply loved. In that occasion Garbo bought around 70 pairs of shoes.

Just two years ago, almost fifty years after the actress stopped to shop at Ferragamo’s, Craig Reisfield, Garbo’s great-nephew, visited the designer’s museum in the Florence-based Palazzo Spini Feroni. Reisfield mentioned the Museum Director Stefania Ricci, the collection of Greta Garbo’s dresses and accessories the family still owned and an exhibition was soon planned.

“Greta Garbo. The Mystery of Style” analyses the actress’ continuing association with fashion and her transformation into a prominent on-screen style icon.

Throughout the ‘20s Garbo identified with the style of the Art Deco trend: fans may remember the shot from Monta Bell’s Torrent (1926) that marked the birth of Garbo the Art Deco Diva, in which she appeared with a metallic lame full-length evening coat trimmed with fur.

From 1929, Garbo was paired with the legendary MGM chief costume designer Adrian Adolph Greenberg. An admirer of Erté’s work, Adrian prophetically stated he wanted to create an individual style for Garbo that could also interest and influence people. Adrian kept his word coming up an entirely new and powerful aesthetics for Garbo and, at the same time, contributed with his work to turn America into an influential player in the fashion world. 

Adrian’s contemporary couture outfits for Garbo – form-fitting dresses, high necklines, tailored suits, fur stoles, cloche hats that, closely fitting to the head, highlighted the actress’ face transforming it into a sculpture – mirrored the moods of specific film scenes, but also launched appealing trends widely copied by women all over the world. 

After Adrian, it was the turn of New York designer Valentina who devised for Garbo a sophisticated wardrobe including a palette that comprised classic beige, black and navy, but also shades of pink and turquoise. Garbo retired in 1942, but the very personal style of this modern screen heroine remained, inspiring many costume and fashion designers.

Exploring the connections Garbo had with art, fashion, culture and style, the Milan-based exhibition features pieces recovered from institutes, museums and private collections, including also the dress with embroidered neckline worn in Clarence Brown’s Inspiration (1931), and the costume worn in Rouben Mamoulian’s Queen Christina (1933), a film that spawned its own commercial clothing line linked to Garbo’s appearance.

Many designs exhibited are directly borrowed from Garbo’s own wardrobe, among them also Valentina’s creations including a silk turquoise dress, a beige taffeta dress with prints of crescent moons and a dark cashmere suit with velvet collar; Givenchy’s classic grey suits and Emilio Pucci’s sporty shantung pants matched with a colourful cotton blouse; Louis Vuitton’s timeless cases and Ferragamo shoes, such as ‘Greta’ characterised by a stitchless upper, soft toe and simple clasp, and ‘Darana’, a velvet ballerina shoe.

Four models of shoes that Ferragamo originally designed for Garbo – closed-toe wedge ‘Attica’, round-toe meshed rope sandal ‘Cistia’, evening slipper ‘Darana’ and lace-up ballerina shoe ‘Ravello’ – and that will be offered as part of the Ferragamo’s Creations Collection, are also premiered at the Triennale.

Photography fans will instead find interesting the study in Garbo’s physiognomy included in the exhibition, carried out through portraits of the diva taken by Clarence Sinclair Bull and Cecil Beaton.

Garbo’s style and independence undoubtedly contributed to create a new alphabet of style, both on and off screen. “I walk alone because I want to walk alone,” Garbo’s Arden Stuart stated in The Single Standard, yet throughout her life she definitely walked in style, also thanks to Ferragamo’s shoes. 

“Greta Garbo. The Mystery of Style”, is at Milan’s Triennale until 4th April 2010. From May to September 2010, the exhibition will move to the Florence-based Ferragamo Museum.  

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Comments

[Roger]

Cecil Beaton had an affair with Garbo over several years. He was infatuated by her. He studied every aspect of her beauty in great detail. One of his sketches of her beautiful eyes has just been made into a fantastic interiors fabric in a surrealist style, so her legend lives on! Check it out at www.cecilbeatonfabrics.com
Beaton said of Garbo's eyes - 'there have never been such before, in so deep-set and of such unforgettable blue; they have large, dark irises, and boast lashes so long that it is impossible to believe that they are real, for only a few children have such poetic growth’.

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