Salvatore Ferragamo - spring 2009

It has long been the belief of Massimiliano Giornetti, Ferragamo’s menswear designer, that the modern male no longer observes the traditional codes that dictate dress for day or night. But with this collection, at least, he seemed to be edging toward the conviction that a guy is happy to be really dressed up almost all the time. Say it ain’t so! Giornetti was feeling the opulence of the Raj, so there were exotic details and colors galore in his clothes. A tip-to-toe evening look in orange (shoes included) was outdone only by the exact same in fuchsia. Petals of silk flowered from a shirt placket like a jabot, and pearls and garlands of fabric flowers were slung round the necks of the catwalk princelings. It may well have been excess in the interest of showtime, but even granted that, there wasn’t much that felt…natural. A loosely woven macramé sweater had a dishabille ease, and there were some sheer shirts for summer. Also, a pair of white coveralls, though perhaps “jumpsuit” is more appropriate in this context: The staging evoked David Bowie’s “Station to Station” tour. Not usually a bad thing, except that here it served as a reminder that Giornetti’s previous collections did a better job of drawing the decadence of the night into the sunlight.

by tim blanks

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