Rocco Iannone’s mood board included an awesome shot of Pope John Paul II wearing his white cassock and pellegrina, waving to the crowds from an open-topped and inevitably red Ferrari Mondial Cabriolet back in 1988. There were also images of artisans shaping bodywork molds from clay at the brand’s headquarters; Miami Vice’s Crockett and Tubbs looking 1980s handsome in their pale-shaded and oversized (probably Armani) suiting next to a Ferrari; and Goldie Hawn getting out of a Ferrari.
The point was scope: “Ferrari has many layers,” Iannone said, “and we are always looking for the same thing: to express power in a way.” Transmitting that expression through fashion, he added, depended on the discovery of “connections, emotions, and meaning.” Over half of the looks appeared in shades of white—butter, ivory, etc.—because those were the untreated tones of Iannone’s chosen fabrics. “I wanted to keep the color as it was made by nature,” he said. Fluid silky tailoring with popped collars, a sculptural block-fronted floating dress, sheer-ish knit looks with twisted seat belt waist detailing, and some hefty tailored workwear in canvased denim were the key landmarks here.
Acid-washed denim, treated knits, and sponge-washed leathers added visual range while broadening Iannone’s Ferrari record of engineering handsomely ruggedized luxury garments. Accessories traced the same mechanical logic and included pumps wrapped in cords, square-toe driving shoes, and an angular Tool Case bag. Of one specific belt buckle, the designer said: “This was made especially thanks to the material research I did that was very pure and very essential.” Translating Ferrari’s obsessive engineering into expressive clothing is as challenging a job as any in fashion. Iannone keeps on keeping on.
