Italian fashion house Ferragamo, started by the man who became shoe-maker to the stars in 1920s Hollywood, on Friday celebrated its 80th anniversary in Shanghai.
Ferruccio Ferragamo - one of the five children of founder Salvatore who now run the Florence-based company - said that Shanghai was the ''perfect place'' for the birthday bash.
''Shanghai represents culture, it represents the past but also the future,'' said Ferragamo, pointing out that the Italian label has been in China for 15 years and currently has 31 sales outlets in the country.
Kicking off the birthday celebrations, Ferragamo opened a new exhibition at the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art that traces the story of the company, starting from when his father emigrated from a tiny village in Campania to the United States at the age of 16.
Salvatore and his brothers headed for California, where they set up their first workshop and quickly shot to success by shodding the rich and famous.
Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford were among some of Ferragamo's early clients.
But in the end practically all the faces on the silver screen came to him, looking for the shoes they needed to match their image.
Recognised as a visionary, Salvatore is one of the reasons Italian shoes are famous the world over.
One his most famous achievements was to invent the 'wedge' sandal, a creation which was lapped up by Hollywood actresses and aspiring starlets.
He even made the glittering ruby slippers that Judy Garland wore in The Wizard of Oz and the crocodile-trim stilettos worn by Marilyn Monroe in the movie Some Like It Hot.
In 1927, Salvatore returned to Florence, where he bought a 13th-century palazzo on the banks of the Arno as the headquarters of the family business, which branched out from shoes to include eyewear, silk accessories, watches, perfumes and ready-to-wear clothing.
When he died aged 62 in 1960 the business passed to his widow, Wanda, who was catapulted from full-time housewife and mother to successful businesswoman.
''My mother is now 86 but she still goes to the office every day'', Ferruccio Ferragamo said at the inauguration of the Shanghai exhibition.
As well as telling the Ferragamo family story, the exhibit showcases classic shoes, bags and clothes by the Italian label, and new products including the Tuscan Soul perfume and the Timepieces wristwatch line are also on display.
The show, entitled Salvatore Ferragamo - Evolving Legend 1928-2008, runs at the museum until May 7.
Across town at the new international ferry terminal on the Huang Pu river, celebrations continued on Friday with a performance by Italian ballet star Roberto Bolle, who opened a catwalk parade in front of 1,000 invited guests.
Ferragamo has a dedicated fan base in Asia, where its shoes and other products are snapped up by fashion-conscious shoppers.
China and Japan account for around 50% of the company's profits, which in 2007 stood at over 680 million euros. Ferragamo has 476 single-brand stores in 55 countries worldwide - 238 of them directly owned, and last year said it plans to open new stores in Asia, eastern Europe and at major international airports.
In Italy, Ferragamo fans can visit a permanent museum in the company's headquarters in Florence that showcases its most famous shoes, including the 'ballerinas' made for Audrey Hepburn, some towering stilettos created for Sophia Loren and the multi-coloured cork platform sandals which caused a sensation when worn by Judy Garland in 1937.
Also on show is the 'invisible' shoe made in 1947, using a single thread of nylon on a high-heeled sole, and the revolutionary F-shaped heels of the same year.
