This season Salvatore Ferragamo presented the finest codes and traditions of masculine dressing, forming a masterfully-tailored blank canvas upon which a rich tapestry of fabrics, colors, motifs, textures and volumes is applied – in doing so, creating something new and unexpected, fresh and vibrant. The resulting collection offers a luxurious collision of worlds, expressing the intricacies and idiosyncrasies of the modern man.
A pair of Andy Warhol’s paint-splattered, classic Ferragamo Oxfords heralded the starting point for creative director Massimiliano Giornetti. The shoes’ mix of formality and relaxed artistry became a metaphor and mission statement for a collection that transforms the classic menswear wardrobe into a platform for character, emotion and experience.
Paradox and contradiction is key: ‘perfect’ matches are avoided; clashes embraced. Sharply tailored single and double-breasted suits in finest British mohair and Italian wool are presented in herringbone, houndstooth and Prince of Wales checks, providing a monochrome framing within which to showcase cashmere knitwear, silk shirts and scarves in a kaleidoscopic explosion of color and printed patterns.
Classic men’s outerwear explores further juxtapositions. Heritage and modernity, geometric and the freeform, sharpness and softness all interact to create a new sartorial language. The bomber jacket is reconfigured with a patchwork of rich shearling and ultra-modern Japanese nylon, or woven in black-and-white trompe l’oeil Jacquard motifs; the winter Macintosh is presented in pure white; shearling collars bring layered volume to overcoats and tan leather flying jackets; indeed, duality becomes literal within a reversible cotton and mohair parka.
The precision of the paint-dripped Oxfords – presented in leather or suede, some inner-lined with colored shearling, or extended into ankle boots – is offset by the softness of canvas, suede or shearling, holdall bags, which in a wink to the utilitarian needs of the masculine wardrobe, also transform into backpacks.
The collection was designed to be assembled, deconstructed and personalized according to each man’s individual identity, personality, lifestyle, needs and desires – celebrating nuance as a statement of freedom from the increasingly homogenous world in which we live.
