Toward the end of the Salvatore Ferragamo show, a song came over the loudspeakers that summed up designer Massimiliano Giornetti s new direction for Fall. Kate Bush s "Army Dreamers" said everything there was to know about a fine collection that married the rigor of military clothing with the romance of chiffon and lace.
Having worked on Ferragamo s men s collection before assuming the reins on the women s side as well, Giornetti is a practiced, subtle tailor. There was real finesse in an officer s jacket that combined black leather and sheared astrakhan. The same goes for a black leather blazer belted snug at the waist and its matching pencil skirt, as well as a fatigues-green flannel suit worn with its pants tucked into knee-high boots. Snug sweaters embroidered in bullion kept the military motif going.
The femme side of the Ferragamo story featured off-the-shoulder dresses in crocheted silk interwoven with ribbon; peasant tops tucked into high-waisted pencil skirts; and chiffon gypsy dresses edged in gold. "Lots to wear," said a fellow editor on her way out of the show. Agreed.
