Written by Nicole Štěch

The history of Ferragamo, however, does not begin with a handbag, but with a shoe. And, above all, with a man who refused to regard it as an ordinary object. At the beginning of the last century, his journey took him from his native Bonito in Italy to Hollywood, where he earned the nickname Shoemaker to the Stars. Hollywood brought him fame, but Ferragamo was not merely a shoemaker to prominent women and celebrities, he was an innovator. He was fascinated by the anatomy of the foot, shoe construction, new materials, and above all by the question of how to combine beauty with function. His work on shoe construction led, among other innovations, to the use of a steel shank to support the arch, while he later experimented with cork, hemp, fish skin, nylon thread, and cellophane combined with silk. In 1927, Ferragamo returned to Italy and settled in Florence, where he began to merge his American experience with Italian craftsmanship and manufacturing techniques. It was there that the iconic Palazzo Spini Feroni became not only a place of innovation, but also the company’s headquarters. Ferragamo died in 1960, after which his wife, Wanda, took over the running of the footwear empire and, together with their six children, helped transform the family business into a global fashion brand. Their eldest daughter, Fiamma, played a pivotal role in the development of accessories. In 1965, she began producing handbags and small leather goods as a natural extension of the company’s footwear business.

She was the one who established the Gancini motif as a distinctive symbol of the fashion house. The word gancini derives from the Italian gancio, meaning hook. According to the fashion house’s own legend, the inspiration for the shape and design of Gancini came from the wrought-iron gate of Palazzo Spini Feroni, where the house’s Florentine headquarters are located. It is, after all, one of those fashion symbols whose strength lies precisely in the fact that it did not emerge as an abstract logo, but from a specific place and history. Others, however, believe that the motif originated as early as the 1950s, at a time when marketing strategies were being developed and a number of brands were creating distinctive symbols to set their designs apart. Gancini truly came into its own in Fiamma’s hands, when, in the 1970s, she gave it both an aesthetic and practical function by widely adopting it as a clasp on handbags. In the 1980s, the motif gained significant prominence, and today it appears both as a functional and decorative element on handbags and footwear, as well as an all-over pattern on clothing.

There is one handbag in particular to which the Gancini, as its signature clasp, lends both its aesthetic and functional character. The Iconic Top Handle was created in the mid-1990s from a design by Fiamma Ferragamo and gradually became one of Ferragamo’s most recognizable signatures. It features an A-line shape, a structured top handle, a Gancini clasp on the flap, and a silhouette that some might describe as conservative. Yet that would overlook its eclectic excursions in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At first glance, it is almost the archetypal women’s handbag, but that is precisely what makes it so intriguing: in the name of creativity, Fiamma repeatedly transformed it, treating its strict silhouette as a blank canvas.

She experimented with a wide range of materials. Setting leather and textiles aside for a moment, we are talking about plastic, wood, plexiglass, and wicker. One example is a handbag made from an inflatable material. It even came in its original packaging with a small pump, allowing it to be inflated whenever needed. A wicker bag from the same period might have felt rustic were it not for the distinctive Gancini hardware, which transformed its character and meaning. Experiments with plexiglass, meanwhile, allowed the wearer to reveal everything inside the bag. Even more intriguing are the designs in which wood itself forms the structure of the handbag. Ferragamo, a house renowned for its supple Italian leather, managed to create a handbag that resembles almost a miniature wooden cabinet. These are handbags that are slightly strange. And that is precisely what makes them beautiful.

It is surprising that these archival handbags have not received the attention they deserve. Today, they rank among the most intriguing pieces to be found on the secondary market. Ferragamo managed to create an entire system of variations that showcases both exceptional craftsmanship and the ability to transform an ordinary material into a luxury object. This is also what gives the Iconic Top Handle its enduring appeal. Its fundamental geometry is classic enough to outlast fashion cycles, yet simple enough to be reinvented time and again. And so, I sincerely hope it will return once again in a material we would least expect. Leather suits it, but I want more. Sometimes, the ability to transform an ordinary material into something extraordinary is precisely what changes the rules of the game for everyone.