In 1962, Olga was training to be a shoemaker when Andy Warhol first came to the Berluti store. Although he was still unknown to the public at large, Olga realised she was dealing with an exceptional person.
Olga was eager to attend to these shoes personally, being the first ones executed entirely by her. Against her family’s wishes, she selected the hides and designed loafers with a purity and modernism that were unique for the time. They were perfect except for a thick vein which ran across the top of one of the shoes.
In 1963, Andy Warhol returned to collect his loafers. She gingerly presented them to him. Anticipating rejection, she explained that this pair was not exactly like the rest. Indeed, Olga told him that she had deliberately chosen the leather from a wayward cow that liked to rub up against barbed wire fences. Andy Warhol appreciated the fact that this feature gave his pair of shoes their unique character. Amused and seduced by the surrealism of the situation, he replied: “In future, I only want shoes made from the hide of wayward cows.”
This avant-gardist and contemporary model remains today the symbol of the visionary creativity of the House. It is equally the reflection of the client’s creative input at Berluti.
Excerpt from Berluti website
© Berluti
5 comments:
Admiral, I only want to read columns written by wayward authours.
Those would be some damn fine looking shoes. Reggie has lust in his heart...
"Andy walking, Andy tired/ Andy take a little snooze..." in his Berlutis!
I recently read that upon receiving his first paycheck, Warhol purchased 100 OCBD's from Brooks Brothers in white.
To be honest, I've never been a fan of Warhol's work, but I am a fan of him as a person. He pushed the boundaries and always carried great style while doing so. This story of him at Berluti is classic, someone ought to do a documentary about artists and their style of clothing, most of them purchased finer goods having an obvious eye for craftsmanship.
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