Ferragamo FW24 Remixes the Roaring ‘20s
One century on, Maximilian Davis remasters the revolutionary era’s liberated uniforms for his contemporary clientele.
As designers across the globe look to define the 2020s fashion identity on their high-octane runways, Maximilian Davis’ Ferragamo offers its take by referencing the emancipated styles of the Roaring 1920s. For Fall/Winter 2024, the designer reworks the raised hems, fluid textiles, dropped waists and casual tailoring that defined the liberated era 100 years ago, building a wardrobe that simultaneously references the past while looking to the future. “The 1920s used clothing as a way to celebrate freedom,” he said in his show notes. “And that expression of freedom is something which resonates with me, with my heritage, and with Ferragamo.”
Many of the brand’s next-season garments place an emphasis on secretion. “In the twenties, as a response to the world that surrounded them, people created their own spaces through speakeasies,” explains Davis. “They were hiding what they were wearing until they were safe.” This inspiration manifests in the form of blanket capes, signatures to the Ferragamo brand that conceal their wearers’ underlayers. The pieces covered beneath them — shining leather separates, lacquered organdie dresses, sequined statements, sculptural formalwear — showcase his lively design language.
Davis also looked to fishermen’s uniforms from the era in his sartorial research. On the runway, their rod-casting wares turn refined in the forms of thigh-high wading boots and bulky leather outerwear. Their harsh structures starkly contrast the free-flowing drapery that dominates more of the collection, where cashmere and unlined leather become the stars in bright, eye-gluing tones.
On foot, Davis championed 1920s signatures, reinvigorating sweetheart satin pumps, T-bar stilettos ands strap sandals from Ferragamo’s archives. More masculine pieces include elongated derbies with squared heels and function-first boots. “I always strip things back,” explains Davis. “I like to take a rich part of history and then restrict it to make it cleaner, more modern.” Here, the designer effectively transforms myriad century-old style tropes for the present, with his young manifesto.
See Ferragamo’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned to Hypebeast for more Milan Fashion Week coverage.
