With the third of the four legs of the Fall '15 shows nearly at an end, certain trends have come into focus. Designers are coalescing around the '80s. Flares and floods are dominating the runways. Black is going to be big. Now forget everything you just read: Salvatore Ferragamo isn't a brand bothered by trends. Massimiliano Giornetti, its creative director, has been steering in a classic but not conservative direction of late—call it minimal-ish—after earlier, glitzier collections. That seems like a smart route for a brand approaching its 90th birthday to take.
For Fall, Giornetti was thinking along strong, graphic lines. Color-blocking was a major motif. Trim day dresses were divided into orderly rectangles of complementary colors, and evening pieces with bare shoulders and more cling were sliced and spliced in asymmetric patchworks designed to accentuate a narrow waist. They were well executed, but a little of that color-blocking will go a long way. Coats and dresses that wrapped around the body and fastened with three large resin buttons at one hip were simpler, yet still striking thanks to their bold buttons. Ribbed-knit ponchos that bounced as energetically as a Slinky when the models made their way down the runway looked great over fine-gauge turtlenecks and full, pleated midi skirts. Befitting a house with footwear origins, Giornetti instilled a sense of playfulness and experimentation into the shoes. The best of them had a parabolic heel that looked like a riff on the house founder's famous rainbow wedge.
