WHEN Salvatore Ferragamo’s live-streamed SS21 runway began showgoers, and those attending virtually, were greeted by the unsettling noise of cackling birds.
Directed by Luca Guadagnino – the much-adored filmmaker of the Oscar-nominated Call Me By Your Name – an eight-minute introductory video showcasing the luxury brand’s latest collection swiftly followed.
Helmed by 41-year-old creative director Paul Andrew, this season, the Florence-based fashion house looked to the suspenseful classics of Alfred Hitchcock – The Birds, Marni, Vertigo – films Andrew had re-watched during lockdown.
Inspired by Hitchcock’s signature interweaving of the real with the surreal, the film featured a handful of impeccably-dressed Ferragamo models marching nonchalantly through the empty streets of Milan, bedecked head to toe in designs that nodded to the outfits of Andrew’s favourite heroes and heroines.
When the film ended, the show began, giving attendees a closer look at the brand’s spring offerings. And, they did not disappoint.
Crafted from supple leathers and wools in deep hues of yellow, acid-green, chocolate, slate-grey and sky-blue, women’s looks spanned from sharply-tailored skirt suits and fisherman’s knit mini-dresses to biker-collar jumpsuits and feathered trousers, each paired with an updated version of the Ferragamo F pump.
Men struck a similar balance of elegance and practicality and wore boxy suits with ribbed V-necks, two-tone trench coats and perforated leather jackets matched with baggy trousers and pastel loafers.
Edited down to just 33 looks, this collection was one of Andrew’s most clear-cut yet. Streamlined without compromises, while perhaps not the most exciting, it put forward beautifully-made mix-and-match pieces that fulfil today’s need for versatility – a nine-to-five post-lockdown wardrobe executed to a T.
by Joshua Hendren