Toi, Toi, Toi. Ferragamo SS25

September 22, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maximilian Davis‘ spring-summer 2025 collection for Ferragamo is dedicated to modern dance. Seen through a slightly sinister lens of Luca Guadagnino’s “Suspiria” remake (the monotonous curtains of the show’s venue were very Tanz Akademie, very Madame Blanc), images of Nureyev (who apparently danced in the Ferragamo shoes) and ballet photographs by Hans van Manen, this was a tribute to rough-around-the-edges sort of dance. Loose trench coats with dropped-waist belting, field jackets and sectioned skirts were cut in metal-spiked nylon. The menswear emanated that ’80s off-duty ballet hunk vibe that Nureyev so powerfully emanated – this was further transmitted in a great, oversized black leather pea coat. Leggings, bodies, and ribboned pointed-toe pumps were worn with double wrapped tops that mirrored the classic ballet cardigan. It’s well-known fact that Ferragamo is having a hard time commercially, but Davis does everything he can to make the brand feel like a place to go back to – and investment in.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Dimmed Glamour. Ferragamo AW24

February 26, 2024 | Design & Culture by Ed

Now on his fourth collection for Ferragamo, Maximilian Davis‘ vision of the brand is coded with some distinct signifiers. Once again, Davis found inspiration in the brand’s founding decade, saying “the 1920s used clothing as a way to celebrate freedom. And that expression of freedom is something that resonates with me, my heritage, and with Ferragamo.” Visual references to the 1920s – raised hems, fluid fabrics, touches of fringe, relaxed cuts and dropped waists – reflected the “era of emancipation,” modernized with masculine cuts, utilitarian elements, and Lotta Volkova’s styling. As a result, this particular expression of freedom through clothing was one anchored in shape, with a strong focus on sleek eveningwear, drapery and structured tailoring. There were two lovely shimmering flapper dresses that appeared to be adorned with thick fish scale-style sequins, which were meticulously constructed from leather covered in a special metallic finish. Throughout, these hyperfeminine sensibilities – like sensual, sheer touches – were juxtaposed with masculine shoulders, thick knit jumpers and fisherman wader-style boots. Davis is intrigued by Old Hollywood, given Salvatore Ferragamo’s history with actresses; autumn-winter 2024 is a singular homage to ’20s icons like Joan Crawford and Greta Garbo.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Work In Progress. Ferragamo SS24

September 24, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maximilian Davis‘ Ferragamo is a work-in-progress, which isn’t a bad thing. Spring-summer 2024 reads as a rather new direction taken by the young creative director, which proves he doesn’t work on a formula – as most of designers in Milan. No Gancini motif, no Hollywood angle, no oversized cutout bags, pretty much no Ferragamo red. Three shows in, Davis is learning while doing, and he isn’t scared to experiment. A refined palette of black, white, and green defined the collection that was all about investment wardrobe building-blocks. Sleek black suits walked the runway with fragile waistlines and open-air sleeves, but there were also some eccentricities, like wooden beading applied in wide belts and statement vintage-y prints. Still, I couldn’t help but count all the similarities to Phoebe Philo’s final collection for Céline. I’m so looking forward to Philo’s return this season… But back to Ferragamo for a minute. Leather car coats in deep green were satisfying, just as V-neck pullovers and pocketed cargo pants. Figure-shaping dresses restructured the human form. Caped versions revealed refined chest structures in motion, completing the 64-look collection with a series of sheer garments featuring intriguingly sculpted edges. There’s certainly a spark about Davis’ take on Ferragamo. But he still needs time to truly polish his sensitivity.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Restrained Elegance. Ferragamo Resort 2024

June 12, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maximilian Davis seems to be on his way of grasping what his Ferragamo is all about. The Milanese way of dressing has made an impression on the young designer, and he translates it through a contemporary Hollywood lens (the heritage brand has an important history with the entertainment industry and shaping its original stars’ style). Davis picked up on the sense of restrained elegance, but he was also perceptive of that subtly seductive side. What he brings to today’s version of Ferragamo is a sort of rigorous sensualism, pivoting on exact, modern tailoring inflected with a luxe indulgence. Worryingly, the resort 2024 offering dangerously reminds of Bottega Veneta – both Daniel Lee and Matthieu Blazy-era – in a couple of places. Still, Davis has an affinity for the label’s timeless codes, to which he’s adding clarity and edge, leaning on the craftsmanship and resources the house can provide for high-end execution. That fashion temperatures now are lowered to minimalism’s cool weather also seems to work in favor of his Ferragamo treatment. For resort, his tailoring was slim and straight-cut or nip-waisted and sculpted, sustained by compact fabrications. A standout in the outerwear offer was a strong-shouldered yet hourglass-y black city coat with Davis’s signature askew buttoning; smooth and velvety to the touch, it was actually made in flocked denim. Like other staple pieces in the collection, it was offered for both genders. What makes Davis’s approach individual are the subtly “perverse undertones,” as he calls them, that he adds to his collections. Here some of the looks were teamed with shiny black patent leather stretch boots with a curved high heel, giving off a fetishistic edge. That’s a signifier the designer should definitely focus on, and implement more confidently in his work at Ferragamo.

Technical Control. Ferragamo AW23

February 26, 2023 | Design & Culture by Ed

Maximilian Davis‘ take on Ferragamo is an ambitious work in progress. His sophomore runway collection, comparing to the loud debut from September, focused on streamlined silhouettes and timeless wardrobe building-blocks. Davis said he began by looking to the 1950s, a house sweet spot when clients included Audrey Hepburn and Marylin Monroe, who would order her favorite four-inch Filetia and Viatica pumps in bulk. Whether on screen or off, the worn vernacular of that time in Western cultures was pretty consistent; tailoring and first-wave Ivy League sportswear for men, and optimistic, post-war abundant full skirting and chastely sexualizing waists and necklines for women. Davis took these period features – focusing especially on circle skirts, nipped waists and sweetheart necklines for women – then effectively worked to add contemporary elements in fabrication or via delicate sportswear detailing. He simultaneously defined his tailoring template – a high-lapeled, one-and-a-half breasted, and as-nipped-as-womenswear jacket shape – and then expanded it equally across both genders. Some more off-duty looks (jeans and tank tops, trenches over shorts) acted as punctuation marks, as did cocoon-like hoodies double layered over flaring long-line skirts. Bags included handsome oversized daybags in lilac and natural lizard. This young designer showed a mature restraint by waiting for a third of the run before pushing the tone of red that Ferragamo is trying to claim as its own, hitting us with a precise red pantsuit and male-worn leather trench. The technical control, however, seemed to block Davis’ more daring, creative side. The lack of a so-called “hero look” made the collection somewhat too stiff.