The future is in the eye of the beholder for Salvatore Ferragamo.
The Italian luxury house recently unveiled its Spring/Summer 2022 collection at Milan Fashion Week – the first time design director of menswear, Guillaume Meilland, had overseen womenswear, following the exit of former creative director Paul Andrew in April.
Meilland’s free-spirited designs featured an “Italianate rainbow” palette of muted cream, ochre and rust, as models wore mini-dresses with repurposed Ferragamo flower power prints, suede blazers tucked neatly into high-waisted shorts, and nude bralettes paired with loose, tailored trousers.
The breezy silhouettes marked a departure from structured, tight-fitting shapes of the past, playing into late 60s and 70s liberation – an era that was defined by change. It’s fitting as Ferragamo – the brand – is in the midst of a transformation. After seasons of lonely livestreams, the Florence-based label is looking to the future, and facing a changed world.
The cool, cult-like luxury label’s new direction was first signalled in its futuristic, sci-fi-inspired short film, A Future Together, set against the backdrop of Milan’s famed CityLife complex and helmed by German Academy Award-winning filmmaker Wim Wenders.
With Ferragamo’s Gattaca and Blade Runner-esque, fluorescent Fall/Winter 2021 collection as the inspiration, it told the story of a young director (played by Italian actor Gaia Girace) who began a flirtation with a sound engineer she met on set (musician and model Felix Sandman). As the world slowly emerges from the coma-like pandemic, their budding relationship became a metaphor for infinite – and well-dressed – possibilities.
“Sometimes, when the cards are stacked up against you and you have to fight many obstacles, the result can achieve an extra aura of beauty,” Wenders says of the film’s significance.
As Ferragamo awaits the arrival of its new CEO (Mario Gobbetti, the visionary executive credited with turning around Burberry) and a yet-to-be-revealed successor for Andrew, the brand is shaking up its DNA on – and off – the runway.
For Ferragamo (and us all), the future is now. Fill your freedom wardrobe with pieces from Wenders’ fashion film below.
Ferragamo Studio Tote Bag, $5590 SHOP NOW
Ferragamo Viva Ballet Flat, $1050 SHOP NOW
ferragamo Trifolo Top Handle (M), $3590 SHOP NOW
Ferragamo Sock Sneaker, $1150 SHOP NOW
