Shygirl, Chiara Ferragni And Italian Ease At Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2024

Maximilian Davis cites Arte Povera as his main inspiration.

By Windy Aulia - published 26 Sep 2023

Three collections in at Ferragamo, wunderkind Maximilian Davis steered the Italian fashion house home. For spring/summer 2024, he cited Arte Povera as his main inspiration, the art movement that swept through major Italian cities in the late ‘60s and early ’70s. This was not some abstract expressionism chosen at random, but rather, rooted in the amalgamation of natural elements and industrialism that was much needed and very much prevalent at its time.

This symbolism packs a punch in the hands of the 27-year-old British designer. Waxed linen coats and capes are created to mimic the lustre of lambskin and leather. Loose caftan dresses are adorned with wooden hook and metal rings on its neckline. The only prints that Davis utilised are the wavy hourglass colour blocks (reminiscent of Matisse’s block print era) as well as an abstraction of the Venus flytrap flower—perverse, but highly sensual. The theme of femininity continues with new iterations of the Hug bags and several other new iterations created by Davis. As for shoes, the caged heel—hailing from a time not far from the Arte Povera period—is making a comeback, along with sensible shoes that customers would no doubt appreciate.

Shygirl, Chiara Ferragni, Soo Joo Park, Tracee Ellis Ross and more appeared front row for the official unveiling of Ferragamo's latest collection.