In the days before making his runway debut for Ferragamo last September, all eyes were on 27-year-old Maximilian Davis. And just like that, there was a new Ferragamo.
The fashion world is no stranger to luxury shakeups. We’ve seen it time and time again. There was Alessandro Michele at Gucci, Hedi Slimane at Celine, Daniel Lee at Bottega Veneta (and now Burberry), and while lately, it seems like every major fashion house is playing a game of Creative Director musical chairs, it’s really nothing new. Back in the early aughts, Tom Ford was credited for spearheading the major change at Gucci and shifting things for the industry as a whole. Michael Kors had a similar effect during his time at Celine in the 90s and early 2000s.
Until now, the nearly 100-year-old Ferragamo has remained strictly a classic, family-owned (the Ferragamo Family is still largely involved and owns about 65 percent of its shares) luxury sleeper brand known for its quality shoes and leather goods. However well known, the brand had been in a transitional period for a few years, and it was Ferragamo’s new CEO, Marco Gobbetti, who discovered Davis’s talent.
The New Ferragamo
The first from the new and improved Ferragamo debuted back in September with a bold red bang, and these pieces are now starting to make the rounds among fashion lovers and the celeb set. Davis did manage to bring about change, which is exactly what he was appointed to do, but he did so without disregarding the brand’s heritage. Offering up a new logo, the pieces presented felt modern and enticing, with the quality and touches of history that pay homage to the old Ferragamo. A perfect marriage, if you will.
“It’s not trying to disregard what Ferragamo has been in the past; it’s about just taking it and making it feel new and modern,” Maximilian Davis told WSJ
Davis took to the brand’s archives to explore and out came the Wanda bag, originally named after Salvatore Ferragamo’s wife. New proportions define the sleek silhouette, which is finished with a staple: the iconic Ferragamo Gancini hardware. Then there’s the cut-out bag, which feels like a welcome change to what other brands are doing. Available in 3 sizes, it’s already proving to be a hit for the brand, recently spotted on the arm of Dua Lipa in New York. As far as debuts go, Davis and Ferragamo couldn’t have asked for better reviews, and it seems the brand is on track to reinvent itself.
Look below at some of Ferragamo’s Spring 2023 bags, and let us know what you think of the new Ferragamo.
I was excited to hear Maximilian Davis joined Ferragamo as he is young and fun but boy has he been an absolute disaster – reminds me of the mess Ricardo Tisci did with a Burberry – changed logo and instead of updating the brand with new energy he has gone backwards and turned the brand into the worst possible iteration. Who is the ferragamo customer? It has always been women over 50 who want quality materials and classic design – fire him before he creates more disasters
it looks the same amount of meh to me. If it wasn’t for the hardware Ferragamo had no visual identity if you ask me
Major improvement. Ferragamo has become synonymous with boring and dated. This new era had made me interested in the brand once again.
Love the Wanda and the Prism bags as well any of Ferragamo’s modern designs featuring the Gancini. But I never liked the bags with bows and I’m not a fan of the Cut Out bags at all. The one thing you can count on with Ferragamo is impeccable quality.
I’m not a fan of the new designs or the prices. I bought their bags because I like structured handbags. And I think Ferragamo does prints better than anyone else.
Still not interested. Their general quality especially with the shiny leathers has never been it for me. I lucked out with their belts though.