Mood board: We have different personalities online and in person. Social media and the digital realm has encouraged a duality of existence. For Salvatore Ferragamo’s A/W 2019 collection, newly appointed creative director Paul Andrew (who joined the house in September 2016 as women’s footwear director and was promoted this week to the creative director of the Salvatore Brand, across all categories including menswear) and men’s ready-to-wear design director Guillame Meilland, were thinking about kaleidoscopic nature of identity. Andrew has used footwear (the founding pillar of the house – its archive has over 20,000 models), as the starting point to the brand’s collections. The colours in his A/W 2018 debut, were inspired by the tones in 1938’s Rainbow Wedge, made originally for Judy Garland. For A/W 2019, a multicoloured patchwork wedge from 1942, inspired panels of suede, nappa, snake and lizard, and an amalgam of burnt, berry and oceanic hues.
Best in show: For women, a selection of buttery leather pieces in raspberry, tan, turquoise and forest green, like a utilitarian two-piece suit, a duster coat and a sporty padded cagoule, were luxurious and modern. Archive foulard silks overlaid with tartan prints, were emblazoned across pyjamas and pencil skirts and a hooded pinstripe blazer and voluminous trousers channelled sports chic. For men, colour combinations excelled, like a beige suite paired with lilac knitwear and a tan leather minaudière and a mismatched pinstripe blazer and slim trouser, teamed with a pistachio shirt.
Finishing touches: Of course, the footwear was fabulous, from stompy men’s lace up boots to women’s spindly heels, laced with metallic beading. §
