Sometimes it takes a wrong turn to get to the right place. Last season, Massimiliano Giornetti's experiments with cut and proportion felt forced. Deconstruction is just not the Salvatore Ferragamo way. The Fall collection he showed today hewed more classic without looking safe. It's hard to argue with the stand-up collar blanket cape in brushed plaid that he opened with, or the sleeveless black cashmere wrap dress piped in leather that came sweeping down the runway a couple of looks later.
When Giornetti did venture some risks, he restricted his experiments to the surface of fabrics—needle-punching jacquard or dipping leather pleats in metallic paint. The men's collection he showed for the label last month took a homey turn. There was a warming trend here as well, in pieces like a black wrap coat, of which only the hem was decorated with a white animal-spot pattern. Whether it was embroidered or painted, you couldn't tell, but it lent a depth and richness to the coat that felt true to this house. It was a feeling that carried through to a pair clingy ribbed-knit dresses at the end that looked brushed with gold leaf.
