Paul Andrew has so far steered clear of Salvatore Ferragamo’s best-selling shoe, the famous Vara pump with the grosgrain bow. “It made me uncomfortable to approach an icon like that,” he said backstage today. But for Spring 2020, his fourth runway for this Italian heritage brand, he thought he’d give the Vara a go. Andrew’s interpretation, which has been dubbed the Viva, has a pointier toe and a longer vamp. He paired them with ankle-length socks, which lent the looks they were worn with a youthful esprit.
The Vara isn’t the only house icon Andrew considered for Spring. Ferragamo funded the recent rehabbing of Florence’s Neptune Fountain—Fendi did the same for the Trevi in Rome, and Tod’s CEO Diego Della Valle has supported the refurbishment of the Colosseum. Andrew took photographs of the fountain’s famous marble statue and re-created them as a print for overalls and camp shirts and as a velvet dévoré motif on a summery dress (for men they made their debut at Ferragamo’s Pitti Uomo show in Florence’s Piazza della Signoria). Why not capitalize on the company’s good works?
In any case, the Neptune motif jibed with the general direction of the season. Inspired by a photo of himself and his brother as young boys on holiday, Andrew wanted to conjure the laid-back spirit of summertime in Italy. One way he did that was to resurrect Ferragamo’s swim collection, which had been dormant for about a decade. Elsewhere he tried to get at the feeling with construction: Dresses were bubble-skirted, and the back was cut away on sweaters and coats to create lightness. Leather is the Ferragamo patrimony, but there was perhaps too much of it to maintain the intended effervescent mood; even cut paper-thin and away from the body, the material isn’t ideal for the heat. A straightforward jumpsuit in khaki or black and a breezy striped caftan that played to Andrew’s minimalist strengths were naturally better suited for summer travel. Their spareness made a fine canvas for the soft-structured tote and accordion clutch that accessorized them. With its meticulous handwork and graceful, unfussy aspect, a striped crocheted tank dress made the season’s biggest impression.
