Ferragamo Presents Its New Pre-Spring 2024 Collection: A Modern Wardrobe

For Pre-Spring 2024, Maximilian Davis explores the multi-generational archetypes of the Italian family, refracting the codes of their wardrobes through his particular lens and reconsidering classics with contemporary clarity. “I feel as though, in Italy, even the pieces people wear at home have a sense of luxury through the craftsmanship of their creation,”Davis says. “Here, a luxurious way of dressing is considered through an everyday elegance that I find incredibly inspiring.”

An eclecticism of eras quietly pervades the collection – the nipped waists of the 1940s, the glamorous accents of the 1980s, the minimalism of the 1990s – in accordance with the spirit of a wardrobe assembled over a lifetime. “I was thinking about the timeless, heirloom pieces that you would pass down to your children as well as the pieces that would never date,” Davis continues. Flashes of the Ferragamo archive appear throughout: a twisted rope detail on men’s and women’s sandals is translated from a 1956 shoe; handbag hardware drawn from an 80s Ferragamo lighter excavated from a Christmas catalogue; quilted silhouettes adopted from a 1999 runway collection.

Equally, the language Davis has established at the brand appears omnipresent, from the slash detailing piped across tracksuits to the mid-century couture silhouettes informing cropped bombers. The appearance of high-shine patent boots and sandals, deep-cut necklines and extremely-cropped shorts subverts tradition: a fetishistic touch of taboo within the family setting.

Fabrications appear key in updating the spirit of heritage with an exacting edge: the characteristics of natté wool, lightweight but distinctly structured, imbue both tailoring and sportswear with a distinct silhouette; elsewhere, a compact, nubuck suede steadily holds its form. Flocked denim, developed to resemble velvet, offers the appearance of glamour but the ease of a new era, while the weight of double-faced cashmere allows for hoodies to become effortless outerwear. An array of apres-ski outfits are formed from recycled polyester or quilted, lacquered nylon for profound practicality; butter soft bonded leathers allow the bodies of bags to collapse in on themselves in an expression of louche elegance; slippery silk satins suffuse eveningwear with ease.

Accessories incorporate a new array of modern classics. Drawing upon graphic lines and geometric forms, they distort symmetries with exacting elegance. The slightly sculptural edge of a top-flap shoulder bag, fastened with lighter hardware, appears curiously desirable; the organic cut-outs of a leather shopper and tote infinitely hypnotic and instantly recognisable. The luxurious expertise of Ferragamo’s atelier is reflected in the understated purity of a leather menswear day bag, its meticulous, bonded construction and minimal hardware allowing for its softest and most lightweight form, and the contemporary classicism of the Hug bag, first introduced as part of Autumn/Winter 2023 collection and now seen in earthen tones and tactile fabrications alongside a pouch iteration. A fresh perspective on modern glamour is explored, too: an evening bag, ornately embroidered with crystals and coral pays tribute to the sparkle of Marilyn Monroe; the twisted golden rope of a top-handle handbag introducing a touch of opulence to clean-cut minimalism.

The Ferragamo heritage is revived anew in footwear, through the tubular construction of sandals adapted from an archival 50s style. The gently curved heel of stilettoes and swollen toes of brogues twist tradition into modernity: an apt encapsulation of this new chapter for Ferragamo.