Since Salvatore Ferragamo’s last women’s show in February, the house’s longtime creative director, Massimiliano Giornetti, has exited the company. Today, Fulvio Rigoni, the head of design for women’s ready-to-wear, was in charge. Backstage, he explained he wanted to juxtapose fluid femininity with sportswear. The conversation started with a floral print sheath, fitted everywhere but at the short sleeves which puffed out slightly. Next came a cropped anorak and a high-waisted, narrow skirt with a fluted hem, both in spongy, techy fabrics. The show continued on that way, willowy floral dresses and others in ruched or pin-tucked designs interspersed by athletic-ish separates and crisp suiting in solid shades of navy, green, red, and azure. While they looked well enough made, these were not high-impact clothes. Without knowing what Rigoni’s mandate was, there’s no argument that he played it too safe.
The house patrimony, of course, is shoes. Perhaps its most famous is the rainbow suede covered, layered cork heel Ferragamo himself designed for Judy Garland in 1938. That iconic shoe inspired the wedge sandals Rigoni paired with his feminine propositions and the crocheted sock shoes that went with the sportier looks. Of the two styles, the former was the more flattering, but neither quite lived up to Ferragamo’s impressive legacy.
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