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.
