Italian fashion house Ferragamo announced a new renaissance, a new trajectory that honors Florence’s rich tradition of artistry, beauty, and innovation, with its Fall Winter 2023 campaign captured by photographer Tyler Mitchell. In charge of creative direction was Ferdinando Verderi. Stars of the campaign are models Paul Hameline, Iván de Pineda, Malick Bodian, Taemin Park, Vittoria Ceretti, Anok Yai, Lina Zhang, Jessica Stam, and Mona Tougaard, joined by creative consultant and strategist Zainab Jama, singer and songwriter Kelela, sound artist Yasmina Dexter, and photographer Tyler Mitchell.
As its founder phrased it, the history of Ferragamo is not merely “the story of the small, barefoot, unlettered boy who became a famous shoemaker.” It is also the tale of perpetual rebirth and development. Salvatore Ferragamo was born in the village of Bonito as the eleventh of fourteen children. He was undoubtedly reborn in the United States as a youthful Italian craftsman who understood the desires of Hollywood. That was the first Renaissance of Ferragamo.
This transformation was accomplished by courageously embracing Italian heritage. The interiors of his store at 6683 Hollywood Boulevard were pure Italian Renaissance: walls covered in batik resembling 14th-century tapestries, hand-carved couches, and opulent curtains complementing classical columns. Even though he was from the Avellino region near Naples, Salvatore, as an Italian, was enchanted by Florence, the “Jewel of the Renaissance,” and imbued with the spirit of that time and place; he comprehended its potency and resonance. Therefore, when a few years later he decided to return to Italy, only Florence would suffice. A new Renaissance for Ferragamo had begun.
The Italian Renaissance was a period of great innovation and creativity. It celebrated innovation and artisanship and united artistic and artisanal excellence. In 1927, Salvatore gave Ferragamo the house of Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence. All of this was evident there. The Palazzo, which is still the headquarters of Ferragamo, appeared emblematic of the Florentine bottega, the workshop or studio of the master artists and craftsmen where dialogue and the exchange of ideas and knowledge enabled Renaissance thinkers, intellectuals, and artists to transform local philosophy and skills into a global phenomenon.
Multiple rebirths were required along the way – after the Great Depression and after World War II – but the power of creativity always prevailed, and the “shoemaker to the stars,” as Salvatore became known, enchanted the world, just as his Renaissance progenitors did.
During this period, a creative community nourished the founder’s imagination and broadcast his Florence-inspired collections. Not only did this include Salvatore’s fellow artisans, but also his extraordinary clientele: Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Eva Perón (Madonna wore Ferragamo when she played Perón in Evita years later).
The Uffizi was central to the Florentine experience that inspired Ferragamo’s creativity, representing the city’s continuous celebration of the Renaissance. Started in 1569 by Giorgio Vasari as office for Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, it was one of the earliest modern museums, opening its gallery to the public in 1769 and becoming a museum a century later. The Uffizi has served as a beacon throughout the history of the house of Ferragamo in Florence, highlighting the significance of new ideas, art, beauty, and creativity.
Today, Ferragamo is experiencing a modern Renaissance and has partnered with the Uffizi to exhibit Creative Director Maximilian Davis‘ collection of sensual, elegant, and sophisticated ready-to-wear, shoes, and bags for Autumn/Winter 2023, using some of the most renowned works of art from the 15th and 16th centuries as backdrops for his work. By juxtaposing the sharp tailoring and exquisite suiting, the richly textured fabrics and the bold materials and colors, the Hug bag and the archive-inspired gold sandal with works by Bellini, Veronese, and Botticelli, Davis has created a dialogue between the past and the present in which both the spirit of the Renaissance and the world of 21st-century luxury are brought into sharper focus.
And similarly to how the brand’s founder Salvatore collaborated with an artistic community, Davis has invited a group of artists to appear in the Ferragamo Fall Winter 2023 campaign captured by Tyler Mitchell. The New Renaissance campaign tells the story of a community in the making, with an ensemble of models, musicians, and creators animating the artwork-based mise en scène in a contemporary manner.
The Renaissance is hardwired into Florence, and Florence is hardwired into Ferragamo. At this time of a new beginning at the house, it made perfect sense to reclaim the cradle of the Renaissance as our spiritual home, and to harness the deep, artistic spirit of this city to showcase the new collection. – Maximilian Davis
In a parallel series of photographs, Ferragamo’s modern Florentine boutique is also brought to life, as Tyler Mitchell captures the interconnectedness of Maximillian Davis’ group of models and even steps out from behind the camera to join them. These visual insights into a contemporary artist’s studio have precedents from the Renaissance to the present day, ranging from an image of Tintoretto in his workshop to Gustav Courbet’s famous The Artist’s Studio to Richard Avedon’s portraits of Andy Warhol and members of The Factory. Mitchell’s depiction of the new Ferragamo community illustrates how individuals accomplish self-expression through participation and collaboration.
Ferragamo is constructing its future through the skilled hands of its artisans, the study and evolution of its heritage, the harnessing of new, creative talents, and the establishment of its community, just as the Renaissance masters of craftsmanship and art in Florence came to be admired throughout the world for their creative achievements.
Artworks featured in the FERRAGAMO Fall Winter 2023 campaign: Alesso Baldovinetti, Annunciation (1457), Giovanni Bellini, Holy Allegory (1490-1500), Paolo Veronese, Annunciation (1570-75), Francesco Granacci, Joseph Going to Prison (1515), Giorgio Vasari, Portrait of Alessandro de Medici (1534), Botticelli, Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder (1475), Botticelli, The Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala (1481), Piero della Francesca, Diptych of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza (1467-1472).
