Ferragamo Shares a Dream of Liberation and Peace for Fall 2026
The ’20s-inspired collection spoke to the turbulence and instability of our time with rare sincerity.
Last season, Maximilian Davis examined Salvatore Ferragamo’s connection to Africana in the 1920s, drawing inspiration from the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, and the shift in silhouette as women shed corsets for more relaxed shapes. Today’s fall 2026 collection, in many ways, picked up where the designer left off, especially when it came to highlighting the new, liberated styles of the era.
Foreboding music played as the first looks became visible in the darkened La Triennale di Milano museum. Picture: an enlarged peacoat with hints of the garment’s sailor past; gorgeous silk shirting with drawstring ties all the way up the neckline, capacious double-breasted coating, and deconstructed suiting and knitwear. The same wide proportions of the updated zoot suits and loose, free gowns from last season came through. But the new offering is all about tailoring and its (re)construction. Buttons and modular construction became a focal point, with chiffon-enforced sweaters unbuttoning at the neckline, and pieces of paneled frocks and skirt suiting connected by buttons. Davis has always been a master of the refined and the sexy, and the paneled pieces allowed for skin to be shown anywhere you desire. The men’s suiting was fantastic—who wouldn’t want to walk the streets of Milan, Casablanca or Hong Kong in a full Davis-for-Ferragamo jacket and slacks?
A few minutes in, the tense score gave way to the soothing sound of Kelela’s voice. “This crazy world needs peace,” the artist sang. Black, cream, and navy garments switched to muted greens, faded blues, and faint oranges, colorblocked for eccentric grace. “In the original moment, it would have been vibrant—but now we are seeing it through the haze of history,” Davis said of the dulled colors.
As Kelela’s voice dissipated, the showstopper pieces arrived. Metallic gold gowns in foiled velvet lamé and silk slip dresses in floral jacquard felt transported from a distant era and modern all at once. A golden draped dress, cut just above the knee with a high neck that trailed to the ground, would be a vision on Tilda Swinton. Pleated floor-length gowns, sheer until the waist, were magic.
Davis knows how to lean into an emotional journey, speaking to the turbulence and instability of our time with a rare sincerity. And, lest we forget the house’s origins, a new pointed stiletto in black and white and a deeply vampy slingback are just as desirable as the clothes.
