For the Autumn-Winter 2023 collection held in Milan on February 25, creative director Maximilian Davis turned to Hollywood, the second home of Salvatore Ferragamo, once again for inspiration, to debut a collection drawing upon the wardrobes of stars who wore the house in the 1950s.
“It’s how Ferragamo started, making shoes for films in the 1930s, and that grew into building relationships with movie stars like Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe in the 1950s,” explains Davis.
“I was interested in using their glamour and beauty, and their way of dressing, as a reference, but looking at how we could make it feel modern for today.”
The second collection of the 27-year-old has been hailed one of the highlights at Milan Fashion Week.
“This was one of my favourite shows!” marie claire Fashion Director Naomi Smith explained.
“It was a stand-out: super chic, grown-up and wearable. I love the slimline silhouette and the way he wired the red throughout the collection. The black leggings worn under the dresses which ultimately highlighted the shoes, was also genius. Everyone was buzzing about him after the show!”
The sentiment of the season—the re-imagining of disparate eras and cinematic aesthetics in a modern lens—saw Davis fuse his signature clean-cut modernity with a hyper-feminine volumes and silhouettes of the mid-century; a ball skirt in optic white nylon; off-shoulder and cocoon-cuts reminiscent of couture in the fifties with cropped technical bombers and sharp tailored shirting.
A harmonious blend of the bygone era and elements of displaced futurism, the collection on the accessories front featured Bakelite jewellery in transparent resin, alongside exotic prints taken from the archives and leather goods with a slight distortion “to make them feel like heirloom pieces, taken from the past but brought into the future,” the show notes.
Naturally, shoes had a starring role. The ornate structure of an archival shoe, originally manufactured in 1956 in 18 carat gold, is revived through distinct details, including angular-shaped kick-heels, and twisted rope top-handle straps.
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