Ferragamo is going through a transition; the new CEO, Marco Gobbetti, is expected to start his tenure at the beginning of next year. In the meantime, designer Guillaume Meilland, who’s been working on the label’s menswear for quite a few seasons, is keeping the creative flame alive. For spring, he tried his hand at womenswear, valiantly navigating rather tricky territory.
At a preview, he said what intrigued him was trying to harmonize a disparate set of references; his starting point was Luis Buñuel’s 1977 movie That Obscure Object of Desire, where the same role was played by two different actresses. Meilland picked up on the plurality of identities and roles which define women’s universes; he called his approach “a collage work.”
Cue the disparate veins running throughout the collection, which made each piece look individually designed and styled rather than being part of a cohesive sequence. While the men’s offering was streamlined and true to Ferragamo’s sophisticated take on sportswear, for women’s the silhouettes varied from the voluminous to the languid, from the slightly utilitarian to the crafty. Sarouels and billowy caftan/capes were offered in many iterations; roomy apron dresses with plunging necklines were animated by plays of pleats and trailing side straps; high-waisted wide-legged pants were paired with a disparate variety of tops; draped column dresses had asymmetrical cut-outs revealing flashes of bare skin.
Relying on Ferragamo’s rich archives, Meilland sourced a vintage floral motif, which he had repurposed by French artist Julien Colombier and embroidered on a square-cut boxy T-shirt. It made for a nice decorative touch.
