Ferragamo announced this summer that it would be replacing designer Cristina Ortiz with Massimiliano Giornetti, who currently heads up the company s menswear. Before her departure, though, Ortiz had the no-doubt difficult task of completing a Spring collection. She smartly decided to stick to the more covered-up, sophisticated path she established last season, and while this show wasn t as strong, it was still an improvement on her misjudged earlier efforts for the storied Italian house.
Africa was Ortiz s reference point. That led to some rather unflattering jodhpurs cut very generously at the hips, but jackets, blouses, and full skirts in crocodile jacquard were a positive development. The show s highlights were a number of pale coats in crocodile, python, and laser-cut leather. A black gown with concentric circles of beads at the neckline that called to mind the Masai was also striking. But in the end, it was a case of too little, too late.
