#SUZYMFW: A Voice Of Calm At Ferragamo And Agnona

In a global environment of disruption and anxiety, the two brands steer a steady course.

Ferragamo: Fringes for an unsettled view in tough times
Backstage, the Ferragamo family, friends, and supporters had only one topic of conversation on this sunny Milan day: how long the frightening and unprecedented situation in China and the Far East might last. 
While these concerns are shared by all businesses, fashion’s particular problem is that it is cyclical: the shelf life of clothes is often intended for a single season.

 

 

 

 

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Backstage at Ferragamo: three significant looks from creative director Paul Andrew

Post udostępniony przez Suzy Menkes (@suzymenkesvogue) Lut 22, 2020 o 3:19 PST

The same nervousness was expressed at Agnona, part of the Ermenegildo Zegna menswear empire. “Let’s hope the situation gets sorted out, because it is unheard of for the business, whether it is for three months or six months,” CEO Gildo Zegna said. “You see the effect right now in the stores, but what about the supply chain? I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s like a war.”

All the executives I have during the Autumn/Winter 2020 shows share the same anxiety as to whether the Corona virus might spread further, or ultimately disappear.

But Micaela le Divelec Lemmi, CEO of Ferragamo, is cautiously optimistic. “First, China is always a country that moves very fast, and the minute that the situation gets a bit calmer there will be super-fast recovery,” she said. “Secondly, I think for the team that over-reacting would be detrimental. We are concerned for the situation in China. But at this moment Ferragamo is in a phase of reshaping the collection. Part of the work is done, but we need to continue, particularly with the stores, so we need to be sure that we don’t interrupt the road map too much. That’s my stand.”

 

 

 

 

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Paul Andrew talks of his creative thoughts for Salvatore Ferragamo

Post udostępniony przez Suzy Menkes (@suzymenkesvogue) Lut 22, 2020 o 10:45 PST

It is a vision that the CEO shares with Creative Director Paul Andrew, who, having already radically yet discreetly changed the shoes that are at the heart of his work and Salvatore Ferragamo’s heritage, is aiming for the same forward move for his clothes.

 

 

 

 

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Ferragamo - look of the season: camel coat - golden fringe skirt

Post udostępniony przez Suzy Menkes (@suzymenkesvogue) Lut 22, 2020 o 10:49 PST

This season, for every classic piece there was a surprise element or a subtle twist. So the show opened with camel coats, unbuttoning to show off a fringed chain skirt in gold – strings below the waist being a strong trend in Milan from Prada through Fendi and others. Then he took a simple, slim dress and gave it some pep with a split at the side. Even a straight, slim, beige leather dress had poppers to close or open from the knees, while the shoes included a similar idea of openness, with a strappy backless mule.

Not all the clothes opened up, but there was a sense of freedom in a sweater with an autumn leaf pattern. It was as though the designer had thrown the prim side of Ferragamo out, and concentrated on the free-spirited attitude of the founder.

“I was inspired by powerful women that have made an impression on me over the years. Everyone from opera divas to Beyoncé to Nancy Pelosi and even Wanda Ferragamo herself, who was the ultimate female superpower,” the designer said. “I found an archival book with images of botanical flowers for print ideas and then I walked through one of our warehouses and saw stacks of leather skins, left over from production. So I up-cycled all the materials, but dyed them in the colours of the season and used them as woven panels for bags and shoes.”

The show was a fine example of how Italian companies like to think laterally, and Paul Andrew kept up a flow of intelligent ways to re-make and re-love. But perhaps the designer’s smartest idea was to put the focus on the famous shoes in the simplest of ways.
“There is definitely a little more sexiness and skin this season,” he explained. “And because the slits on the skirts are quite high, it puts a focus on the shoes and boots.”

Agnona: Elegance takes its time

Reinterpreting a brand for the 21st century is the task of Simon Holloway, Creative Director of Agnona, a brand that revived its women’s fashion while its menswear lay dormant in the new millennium.

“In my own and other men’s wardrobes, we sensed that there was a space in the market for something that was classically styled, but with a sense of modernity,” Holloway said. “For women, our classics are already established. So the seasonal message is minimal elegance.”

Holloway was inspired by the young Kennedys and their ability to mix formal with American casual. The designer seems exceptional in that he does not chase rocker or street styles, but rather a youthful smartness.

The show was presented in an empty area, with only pillars to break the space in which the models walked at a leisurely pace. The quiet colours and tailored shapes – drawn as if with a compass rather than a set square – produced a fine collection of tailoring for both sexes. As the models walked quietly by in wrap coats, sky-blue cardigans, and jackets that seemed as soft as shawls, the clothes seemed elegantly reassuring: calm clothes for tough times.