Furlane (shoe)

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Woman's slipper made in pink silk with golden embroidery. Venice, 19th century.

Furlane or friulane shoe-slippers, also known as Gondolier slippers, are casual, flat, but sometimes high-heeled shoes. They usually have a velvet fabric upper and a flexible sole made of rubber. The rubber sole is the defining characteristic of a pair of furlanes; the uppers vary widely in style.

Origin[]

The furlane shoe was created in the countryside of Friuli towards the end of the Second World War. It was an expression of Venetian fashion in spite of rationing in the context of post-War economic crisis.

Red Cross nurses gathered the donations of velvet and fabric as well as old rubber from private donors and small businesses; they were used to offer simple and practicable jobs to the unoccupied in various hospitals such as the Military Hospital, the Morelli di Popolo, the Regina Margherita.^[1]

Sold on the Rialto Bridge, they then appeared at the feet of the Venetian gondoliers, who used them not to ruin the wood of the gondolas, and it is said that even the Venetian nobles wore them to sneak in silence, thanks to the soft soles, in the night from their secret lovers.^[2]

Modern furlanes[]

Furlane shoes were fashionable in 2016.^[3] They have often been reshaped into a modified, elongated shape that has a small of heel and a slightly peaked toe.

Worn at the Venice Biennale,^[3] the furlane shoes have won appeal for their origin in recycled materials,^[4] and adaptability.

Manufacture[]

The manufacture of furlanes is generally more complex than that of slippers. The upper part is the most complex.

See also[]

• Bast shoes, similar footwear in Balto-Slavic cultures of identical etymological derivation (from fibre used in their manufacture)

References[]

Look up furlane (shoe) in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.