All the ingredients for a knockout men's collection were in place at Salvatore Ferragamo. Its creative director, Massimiliano Giornetti, is certainly talented; the house has plenty of resources at its disposal; the archives are robust; and by all accounts, the founder was a very charming and fascinating man. As it turned out, though, what one admired the most were the bags and shoes—and not even those sumptuous suede duffels and tasseled brogues in rich caramel colors can carry a collection on their own.
These were clothes that had clearly been given a lot of thought, but somewhere along the way the message became muddled. Opulent fabrics in handsome dusty shades were held back by cuts that neither looked forward nor back. Matching shirts and ties were a clever touch, and some of the lighter-weight jackets were simply outstanding. Belted blazers, however, struck a wrong note, as did fluid short shorts. The show notes cited the "modern flaneur," and therein perhaps lies the problem. It's not clear who is, or aspires to be, a modern flaneur.
