Big fashion events are a dime a dozen in Hong Kong, but on Friday night local fashionistas were treated to a show of epic proportions courtesy of Salvatore Ferragamo. This was the first time the Italian brand has hosted such a major event in the city, with 700 high-profile guests (including singer Kelly Chen), 30 international models (including Du Juan), a lofty location (the 17th floor of the Bank of China Tower) and three collections including the worldwide preview of the upcoming spring/summer 2011 collection.
So why such a big celebration? The brand has had a busy year with the launch of an exhibition dedicated to Greta Garbo in Milan, but the spectacle this time was in honour of Massimiliano Giornetti, the 39-year-old Italian designer who is injecting the women's wear line with a much-needed dose of 21st-century glamour.
The change was a long time coming. In the past few years Ferragamo's women's wear division has walked a rocky road courtesy of three different creative directors. When the fiery Cristina Ortiz stepped down last year, the challenge for the venerable house was finding a new designer who could shepherd the women's collection into the future while respecting the brand's storied past. Luckily they didn't have to look far: the impeccably groomed and remarkably easy-going Giornetti was already serving as creative director for Salvatore Ferragamo's menswear collection and earning plaudits for his impeccable tailoring and attention to detail.
When we meet in the Mandarin Oriental's Cafe Causette before the show, he appears to be the calm in the eye of the storm. While PR people and organisers exchange frantic phone calls, he calmly sips at his San Pellegrino. He doesn't seem any more daunted by the evening's big event, which also served as a birthday party for the Bank of China building, than he did about taking on the additional responsibilities of designing the women's ready-to-wear collection.
'I was not afraid,' he says. 'It was a natural process and because I 'grew up' in the menswear line, it was a fluid progression. [But] designing menswear and women's wear is different. Women's wear is simpler because there is more space - you can do more with a free spirit.
'For menswear, you have to be realistic. If you think about it, in the last 100 years there has not been a big change in menswear - there are changes in proportion, in silhouette, but you're designing the same items - trousers, shirt, jacket and vest.'