Ferruccio Ferragamo, 73, the chairman of Salvatore Ferragamo, a luxury footwear and fashion house to the stars, pictured outside the Court of Appeal in London today

The wife of a mega-rich fashion tycoon is 'racing to divorce' her husband in the UK courts, despite being slammed by a judge for wanting to 'have her cake and eat it.'

Ferruccio Ferragamo, 73, is the chairman of Salvatore Ferragamo, a luxury footwear and fashion house to the stars, which was the go-to shoe label for Golden Age Hollywood icons, including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich.

The hugely successful high fashion house is still 70 per cent owned by the Ferragamo family.

Mr Ferragamo and Ilaria Giusti, 53, were married in March 2004 in Italy and 'enjoyed a very high standard of living'.

The couple have one son, born in 2001, who is now 17.

They have been estranged since 2012 after Mr Ferragamo applied for legal separation from Ms Giusti, but it took six years to be completed after she appealed.

He launched his bid to divorce her in Italy in March 2018, one day after the separation case ended.

But, by that time, she had beaten him to the jump, having relocated to London in August 2017 and filed an earlier divorce petition of her own to transfer the fight over her ex-husband's fortune over here.

But her bid was slammed by High Court judge, Mr Justice Francis, in November last year.

He called her attempt to move the divorce to the UK an 'unprincipled manoeuvre'.

The judge said Ms Giusti had now set up home in Muswell Hill, north London, but had lived in Italy throughout the entire marriage.

Ferruccio Ferragamo, 72, and his second wife Illair Guisti have recently separated

Salvatore Ferragamo was the go-to shoe label for Golden Age Hollywood icons, including Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. Pictured, shoes from the Salvatore Ferragamo show earlier this year

Mr Justice Francis (pictured) ruled that the wife's UK divorce petition must be stayed, and the Italian divorce given priority

The judge explained that, under Italian law, legal separation proceedings must be completed before a divorce can begin.

Mr Justice Francis ruled that the wife's UK divorce petition must be stayed, and the Italian divorce given priority.

Ilaria Giusti, 53, pictured outside the London's Court of Appeal today

He said in his ruling: 'The parties enjoyed a very high standard of living.

'The husband has significant resources as a result of a fashion empire that was created by his father and which he continued very successfully.

'Right up until the last months of 2017 both parties were living in Florence as they had done throughout the marriage.

'The Italian court has made several financial orders at the insistence of the parties, including making substantial provision for the housing and income needs of the wife.

'This is, if I may say so, a remarkable case of the wife seeking to have her cake and eat it.

'First she has availed herself to the fullest extent in Florence of orders for both capital and income, and I have been told she is enjoying a very substantial income indeed from the husband, as well as a significant property in Italy.

'Secondly the wife managed to prevent the husband from being able to issue divorce proceedings in Italy.

'The moment he was given the separation order he wanted, he issued his divorce petition.

'Separation proceedings in Italy are a stepping stone on the way to divorce, quite different from what we might regard as judicial separation proceedings in England.

'This is an attempt by a litigant, namely the wife, to move in the middle of proceedings by a series of manoeuvres to try to put the jurisdiction here in England in a way which is frankly unprincipled.

Now Mr Ferragamo and Ms Giusti are drawing the battle lines for a fight over his millions, with the wife insisting that the divorce should be handled by British judges. Pictured, shoes from the Salvatore Ferragamo show earlier this year

Mr Ferragamo and Ilaria Giusti, 53, were married in March 2004 and 'enjoyed a very high standard of living'

A general view of the interior of the Palazzo Spini Feroni, headquarters to the Ferragamo Luxury Brand

The inside of the Palazzo which was purchased in the 1930s

The Palazzo is adorned with beautiful paintings. It has had several owners over the centuries, from the Spini family to the Guasconi, Bagnano and Feroni families. Since 1995 the Palazzo has housed a museum dedicated to Ferragamo

Mr Ferragamo and Ilaria Giusti, 53, were married in March 2004 in Italy and 'enjoyed a very high standard of living'. The headquarters of the Ferragamo Luxury Brand is pictured

The marital home of the couple: Il Borro, a lavish 1,750 acre estate in Tuscany, formerly owned by the Medici family

The judge said Ms Giusti had now set up a home (pictured) in Muswell Hill, north London, but had lived in Italy throughout the entire marriage

'I am satisfied that the Italian court is still seised of matters relating to the separation...The issue of separation continues to be relevant in term of financial outcome.

The history of Salvatore Ferragamo The iconic Italian luxury goods company was started in 1928 by cobbler Salvatore Ferragamo. The company is known for its innovative designs and shoes adorned by a variety of Hollywood stars such as Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. But the company is not just about shoes, and made boxy handbags favoured by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Salvatore's son Ferruccio is the chairman of the board and oversaw the luxury company going public in 2011. Although the company is now public, the hugely successful high fashion house is still 70 per cent owned by the Ferragamo family. Advertisement

'I stay the English proceedings until such time as the jurisdiction of the Italian court is established,' he concluded.

Timothy Scott QC, for the wife, today asked the Appeal Court to overrule that decision and resurrect the UK divorce.

He argued that the English proceedings must now take priority because, during the one-day gap between the Italian separation proceedings ending and the husband's divorce petition being issued, the English divorce was the only set of proceedings in existence.

He argued that in those circumstances jurisdiction has now been lost by the Italian courts.

He also claimed that Mr Justice Francis' distaste for the wife's 'forum shopping' had led to him making a decision which was wrong in law.

He told the court: 'The issue which Mr Justice Francis decided was whether the Italian separation proceedings were continuing...at the time when the husband's Italian divorce proceedings were lodged on 15 March 2018.

'He held that they were, and accordingly he granted a stay of the wife's English petitions.

'He found the position adopted by the wife to be unattractive and he used a number of disparaging phrases about it.

'He described the situation as a remarkable case of the wife trying to have her cake and eat it.

'He said in terms that her position was unattractive and also that it was unprincipled.

'(But) regulations must be strictly applied even if in the eyes of an English judge one party may seem to be 'gaming the system,' he concluded.

Nicholas Cusworth QC for the husband however argued that Mr Justice Francis got it right.

The Court of Appeal reserved its decision on the wife's appeal and will give its ruling at a later date.

Mr Ferragamo split from his first wife, Amanda Peat - with whom he had his twin sons Salvatore and James - in 2002.