Engineered with substantially more gusto than usual, the MoCA exhibit "Evolving Legend 1928-2008" traces the history of Salvatore Ferragamo, the man and the brand. From the handmade slippers Ferragamo crafted for Hollywood in the first half of the 20th century to machine-generated Lycra pieces from the last decade, the show offers a chronological and coherent narrative of fashion history.

Italian curators Cristina Morozzi and Stefania Ricci have wrapped the MoCA's interior in black cotton, transforming the usually airy atmosphere into blinder-like tunnels that deter the eyes from the natural world and refocus the vision toward the glittering footwear and fabrics housed within.

Ferragamo's is the archetypal rags-to-riches story, but a charming one nonetheless. Born in the tiny Italian village of Bonito, Salvatore moved to California in 1914, where he opened a "boots" store in Hollywood. With a sweating brow Ferragamo became a shoemaker to starlets and eventually, A-list celebrities.

The artisan wrote in his autobiography, Shoemaker of Dreams, that actress Mary Pickford's feet "were the prettiest, the best shaped and the smallest of all the many film stars I have shod ... the joints inside her feet are like those of a baby, but the arches are flawlessly shaped."

One whose fervor for heels and arches erupts with such sentiment is perhaps engaged in a not-quite-holy relationship with the foot.

Perverse or not, Ferragamo's passion for the foot took him through anatomy classes -- an investment in time that produced a unique understanding of the body part and solidified his reputation for super-comfortable shoes.

Back in Italy, Ferragamo's notoriety grew with names like Garbo and Monroe, whose shoes he crafted by the dozen. Acquiring patents and prestige, Ferragamo approached a status where he could afford experimentation -- and dabble he did:

Lace shoes, metal shoes, stocking shoes, vinyl sandals, Venetian glass beaded sandals, Plexiglas heels, cellophane stilettos, sequins, fish skins... The cork wedge shoe, arguably Ferragamo's most famous invention, was patented in 1937. Made from discarded wine bottle cork, this supportive footgear gave its wearer a big boost.

Not just a retrospective of the man, the exhibit umbrellas "the brand" as well, which means everything produced by the company after Ferragamo's death in 1960 is fair game.

A relic of the 1990s, the "golden python jacket" is a rippled leather atrocity manufactured with enough tension to ricochet bullets. Contemporary handbags drip with arm-length feathers and adversely affect the psyche as much as Hitchcock's The Birds. The one-piece, black Lycra jumpsuits splashed with symbols and icons are similarly offensive.

As is often the case in Shanghai, this show has its technical failings. An entire room is dedicated to fuzzy, un-labeled projected images of the Ferragamo flagship store. And, should you take a wrong turn, you could find yourself "backstage" where an exhibition of museum-related construction and the MoCA golf-cart is on display.

If this exhibit set out to prove that "when Ferragamo died in 1960 his brand did not die with him," it was a failure. The simple fact of mass production suggests otherwise. On the other hand, "Evolving Legend" is informative, attractive and for better or for worse, true to its title.

"Salvatore Ferragamo, 1928-2008, Evolving Legend" runs at MoCA Shanghai until May 8. Entry charge is 20rmb.

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