Salvatore Ferragamo Cruise Collection show 2013. (Courtesy Salvatore Ferragamo)

How does one get to hold a fashion show at the Louvre? Try sponsoring an exhibition, for one. That’s how Italian fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo pulled it off, according to The Guardian. As the exclusive sponsor of the exhibition “Sainte Anne: Leonardo da Vinci's ultimate masterpiece,” the brand gained access to this shrine of fine art to showcase their cruise collection on June 12.

So, women in snakeskin boots and crocheted dresses carrying tasseled handbags sashayed through the stone colonnade down “one of the longest [catwalks] built for a Paris show." But don’t get your checkbooks out just yet. It seems there was more to this privilege than a simple fiscal transaction.

As per the story:

Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the group, released a statement underscoring the links between the brand founded by his father Salvatore in 1927 and the work of Leonardo. "Endless creativity, an innovative aesthetic, artisanal roots and groundbreaking research have always characterised the Italian genius, as embodied by Leonardo da Vinci, that we have always appreciated," he said.

Giornetti highlighted another link with Leonardo the anatomist, telling editors before the show that "Salvatore Ferragamo studied the anatomy of the feet, and was fascinated by the function of the shoe as well as the appearance."