Scene setting: Colour is central to Salvatore Ferragamo’s DNA – its famed rainbow wedge, originally designed for Judy Garland in 1938, is formed from a kaleidoscopic platform of colour. Last season, at Paul Andrew and Guillaume Meilland’s dual debut runway show for the brand, they erected a show set divided into different colour-blocked rooms. For S/S 2019 they followed suit, with a runway sectioned by gauzy-fabric walls in different shades, including sky blue, turquoise, orange and fuchsia.
Mood board: In their vision for Ferragamo, Andrew and Meilland have been exploring and reinterpreting the Florentine house’s archive. Last season, a bird-print silk foulard from the 1990s featured in their A/W 2018 collection. For S/S 2019 an archive botanical print anchored the utility and safari inspired offering, rich in neutral tones, and deep khakis, punctuated by pops of red, orange and turquoise. Since Andrew and Meilland took the creative helm of the house, the duo have been honing their vision of the mature modern wardrobe, rich in luxurious fabrications and wardrobe classics. For women, this meant buttery suede calf handkerchief dresses, bright duchesse satin suits and jackets, and tropical print tailoring. For men, soft shine macs, oversized trousers and leather detail linen jeans.
Finishing touches: The footwear was a fabulous celebration of the house’s archives. Ferragamo has a footwear museum in Florence, and when Andrew was originally appointed design director of women’s shoes at the house in September 2017, he spent hours poring over its extensive archive. Salvatore Ferragamo patented 350 shoe silhouettes, including the cork wedge, and this heritage reappeared in Oriental cork flatforms. There was a sculptural sensibility behind the brand’s founder’s designs, and this was seen here in mules with architectural wooden heels resembling graphic sculptures or carved pieces of furniture. Elsewhere, an archive design inspired a series of sandals, their uppers crafted from twists of foulard and nappa leather.§
