Something wicked this way comes. Massimiliano Giornetti's new collection for Salvatore Ferragamo jettisoned the loosey-louchey elements that have characterized his work for the label's menswear in favor of something darker and ever so slightly sinister. "It's like a black-and-white snapshot," he said of the glowering types who stalked his runway, set to an eerie piano score and a moody video backdrop of clouds eclipsing the urban scene.
This was tight, tailored, firm. "Not as flamboyant as the English dandy," Giornetti explained backstage, though dandy elements bubbled to the surface throughout; no one else could shrug on so much velvet, so many peaked lapels. But the Fall collection tapped the vein of uncertainty that has run through the collections so far this season. "It's much more nervous," he offered. "Very fast in the street." Run, don't walk, in other words—or saunter, as his previous avatars might have done.
What once was relaxed took on a steely new spine. Giornetti's tailoring had strong new lines. While textures ran to soft, from velvet to supplest astrakhan, they couldn't cushion the chill. It was a strong showing. Hitchcock could've worked wonders with clothes like these, though he'd have never cast stars so green.
