A lot of pressure was put on Maximilian Davis’ debut for Italian legacy house Ferragamo. Revamping a storied brand is not an easy task, yet the 27-year-old designer’s ambitious first outing was as grand in venue scale as it was its rollout. The first step was dropping the first name of “Salvatore,” then switching from the usual cursive logo to a new Peter Saville-designed font in all black caps on red. This new Pantone red already emblazoned within the new logo was also painted throughout the collection and venue. In the show setting, the former Archbishop’s Seminary of Milan was transformed with red sand that felt like it was imported from Mars. The red was as important to Davis as its connection to the Ferragamo house – his own eponymous line had it constantly as a shoutout to his Trinidad and Tobagian heritage and Ferramgo has history making a pair of glittered red shoes for Marilyn Monroe back in 1959. “I wanted to pay tribute to Salvatore’s start by bringing in the culture of Hollywood – but new Hollywood,” defined Davis in a press release. “Its ease and sensuality; its sunset and sunrise.” Those sunsets and sunrises came through by way of a palette pulled from Rachel Harrison’s Sunset Series degradé prints. A new collar-less suit was emphasized, twisting classically masculine tropes and juxtaposing them with billowing, translucent drapings that made the silhouette organically shaped. Some models were shrouded in hoods that looked like nun habits and hand-dyed knits were woven wide to reveal the skin underneath. Styled by Ib Kamara and casted by Mischa Notcutt it was a strong casting led by opener Mona Tougaard who sported two looks along with Anok Yai, Mayowa Nicholas, Sora Choi, Maty Fall, Mila van Eeten, and closed by Loli Bahia in a diaphanous number.
