September 22, 2014

From street corners to universities, artists’ studios to cultural institutions, DesignPhiladelphia explores design and innovation in our city’s diverse creative ecosystem. The tenth festival will take place from October 9 to 17 with more than 120 distinct events across the city.

On October 15, Westphal will join the festival with a special event in the College’s Fox Historic Costume Collection. FHCC Curator Clare Sauro will delve into a form of impeccable design that is the hallmark of couture Italian shoes. Her talk, “Ciao Bella: Eight Decades of Italian Shoe Design,” will review the rich history of Italian footwear, from Salvatore Ferragamo to the fashion-forward shoes produced by Prada and Romeo Gigli. The event will include an up-close viewing of Italian shoes from the Collection’s holdings. The FHCC is a teaching collection that holds more than 12,000 articles of fashionable dress and accessories, textiles and ephemera. Click here to register for the event on October 15, 6:00pm to 8:00pm, in Westphal College’s URBN Center Annex (3401 Filbert Street). Tickets are $25 and include a dessert reception.

The “Ciao Bella” shoe design event is also part of Ciao Philadelphia, a month-long celebration of all things Italian organized by the Italian Consulate of Philadelphia. Westphal will host another event in conjunction with Ciao Philadelphia, on October 2 at 6:30pm in the URBN Annex Screening Room (3401 Filbert St). We’ll screen Men of the Cloth, Vicki Vasilopoulos’ film portrait of three master custom tailors whose bespoke craft is vanishing. Nino Corvato, Checchino Fonticoli and Joe Centofanti explain the causes for the decline of the apprentice system as they approach the twilight of their careers. The film details the depth of their artistry and their lifelong passion for an endangered Old World craft. The free-to-the-public screening will be followed by a panel discussion and reception.