“Fairy-tale shoes”, from dream to reality

Fairy-tale shoes include not only the shoes accompanying the well-known fairy-tales, from Cinderella’s glass slipper to Dorothy’s red shoes in the Wizard of Oz, but also the shoes representing the virtuous reality of the Italian footwear companies whose creations help their wearers to walk, and to dream. Scarpe da Favola, “Fairy-tale shoes”, is a project by Assocalzaturifici and Micam, the epilogue to the #micamtales advertising campaign, inspired by the world of fairy-tales and in the spotlight between February 2020 and February 2023. “We chose to rely on fantasy and irony,” explains Assocalzaturifici Chair Giovanna Ceolini, “to promote the know-how of 95 Italian footwear companies during the upcoming 95th edition of the event, where an exhibition about the book will be set up in Micam Tales Square in pavilion 3”.  The stories contained in the book “Scarpe da Favola” are by author Lucia del Pasqua, with illustrations by artist La Fille Bertha and a preface by Professor Lorenzo Cantoni. The 95 participating brands were divided according to their mood among the three fairy tales: MICAM in Wonderland – eclecticism, MICAM Glass Slipper – elegance, and MICAM of Oz – adventure. The author and illustrator enriched the narrative with new developments and imaginative details adding new lustre to the dream shoes and making the heroines of the stories into true models of contemporary women: writer and activist Luce, digital entrepreneur Gloria, and Verdelia, an idealistic shopkeeper. The book does not simply present the shoes: it is intended to provide inspiration and encouragement for the new generations in the footwear industry, whose hard work, ingenuity and irony will allow them to make their dreams come true.