Salvatore Ferragamo AW2012/13 @ Men & Women Collection

Salvatore Ferragamo AW2012/13 women collection is a double-edged femininity that revels in a sophisticated play of tailoring and seduction, in an exclusive mosaic of style. A parade in a gilded hall of mirrors: the firm footsteps of a woman seemingly rigorous yet sensual with an intense gaze. Her silhouette traced by a double-breasted overcoat of military cloth, leather lining and astrakhan collar.  Close-fitting jackets and sophisticated pencil dresses worn with knee-high boots. Elegance is a question of detail: the antiqued gold of the signet buttons, the astrakhan skirt is smooth resembling fabric, and hems enlivened by a subtle play of Paisley and braiding. Steppe, Steel Grey and Baltic Blue enhance the chromatic depth of this rigorous season, complimented by fur trimming and total black leather – almost a uniform.

For the evening, sartorial construction relaxes into an explosion of femininity. As in a fairy tale, the volumes of the overcoats become more generous and the fabrics change. Braiding enriched by touches of lurex and interlinking chains, hand worked crochet and alluring transparency produce sumptuously textured knitwear. Black is the common thread linking day and night, which ushers in autumnal woodland tones: Purple, Blueberry, Malachite and Bordeaux. This woman wears flowing skirts inlaid with a seductive patchwork of ribbon and braid, matching them with criss-cross chiffon blouses that bare her shoulders. Against the skin, the liquid effect of printed velvet illuminates the cape and the draped dress. In a crescendo of paisley patterns, embroidery and golden glints, fluidly soft chiffon dresses recreate the decorative flavour of a tsarina’s wardrobe. At her neck, the lustre of Victorian glass cameos set in silk and Swarovski crystals.

      

Sandals and pumps with braided fastenings bare sensual portions of skin amidst a profusion of luxurious finishing. Embroidered velvet or breathtaking suede heeled boots are trimmed in rich astrakhan trimming. The bags are small jewels of craftsmanship: from the fluid forms of the small embroidered velvet bags to the clutch evoking Faberge’s work at the court of the tsars and the enamelled metal minaudiere that resembles an antique cigarette case.

 

 

Salvatore Ferragamo AW2012/13 Men Collection is a new contemporary aesthetic reflecting a style rooted in culture and personality. Black & white snapshots of an urban skyline. A brisk pace across the streets of the metropolis. He is a rigorous aesthete, defined by his sculptured attire of an overcoat made of alpaca or astrakhan lined cloth with the impeccable tailoring of a constructed jacket: bold shoulders, crisp silhouette, double-fillet vertical pockets and ample lapels.

         

Savoir vivre is a question of knowing how to choose. As a serious collector of beautiful things, his inclination is reflected in his sharp wardrobe, where traditional fabrics rediscover their modernity, where pure forms encounter richly textured materials. Printed velvets, cashmere, double-sided woollen cloth, alpaca weaves alluding to ponyskin and boucléeffects resembling fur.The colour palette has a cosmopolitan flavour that weaves together the deep tones of greys, blues and blacks, and then juxtaposes and blends them; rigorously isolated but intensified by flashes of more vibrant colour: violet,Klein blue and green.

 

 

Sophisticated playful graphics enliven knitwear with geometrical necks, worn layered contrasting tailored shirts. The patterns suggest artists’ canvasses or reproduced jacquards generated by the decomposition of solids, or again, re-invented chevron weaves, broken versions of houndstooth and herringbone, teazling and fur stitches, producing never-ending trompe l’oeileffects. The evening lights up with the opalescence of velvets, in tones of blue and red, experimenting with the subtly eccentric elegance of outsize moire. He has his hair combed back, this contemporary dandy, he wears glasses and an electric blue tuxedo (with tie or bowtie), a collarless jacket with grosgrain detailing, sophisticated cufflinks orjewel buttons and - sole concession to vanity - a signet ring.