Italy: The Cobbler Queen of Florence

At the end of World War II, Italy's shoemakers were a down-at-the-heels lot, and Fiamma Ferragamo was a bright-eyed bambina in Florence. Having grown up together, both the Italian shoe industry and Fiamma are now well accustomed to each other. The world's largest exporter of leather foot wear, Italy sold $315 million worth of shoes abroad last year, is running 25% ahead of that pace in 1968. And as part owner and chief designer for one of the best known of her country's 8,000 shoe manufacturers, raven-haired Fiamma, now 27, reigns as...