Salavtore Ferragamo A/W 2014

The normally pitch-black, felt lined show space at Salvatore Ferragamo was replaced this season with an eye-blinding, all-white room that was so piercing it turned blonde hair a futuristic neon yellow-green. But the bright light served a fundamental purpose this season, allowing every line and detail of creative director Massimiliano Giornetti's microscopically constructed collection to arise from their surfaces in high focus. Giornetti has been on a roll recently, but this was a show in which he had editors' mouths literally agape in sheer desire over the clothing and accessories passing before their eyes. The lines this season were long, clean and tailored into sharpened edges. Knife pleating took on an eerie, precise air with iridescent coatings that clung to surfaces, creating striking sunburst formations on long skirts or sleek turtleneck dresses. Tailored pieces, meanwhile, were as sharp as the models side hair parts and their sturdy block-heeled boots, all of which looked as if they had been cut with a scalpel. A terrific funnel neck tartan cape, cut long in front and cropped in the back, opened the show and began a parade of outerwear that grew rousingly in complexity and beauty. Standouts included the leopard print mohair cape that bled from black to rust, a crocodile belted coat glossed to perfection, and a sleeveless coat that morphed from astrakhan to wool to long-haired fox all in the same beguiling garment. It was, all in all, a complete triumph for Giornetti and the Florentine fashion house of Ferragamo and brought to the forefront exactly what the Italians do best.

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans