STYLE Edit: How Alfred Hitchcock classics Vertigo and The Birds inspired Salvatore Ferragamo’s spring/summer 2021 campaign launch
The Italian luxury brand also unveils a new premier customisation programme for its famous men’s shoe, the Tramezza, only available to the most discerning gents at 20 stores worldwide
The new generation of fashion consumers is harder than ever to please. We demand beauty and quality, we require drama and a backstory. We want narratives of suggestion and intrigue, exceptional viewing and buying experiences.
Brands have revamped their approaches to sate these appetites, which has produced beautifully intricate speciality collections and fashion week performances that rival Broadway and the West End. No detail is too small – from hand stitching and the exact materials selected, to the emotional stories that influence the designer’s creations.
The brand kickstarted their season with a cinematic evocation of their entire women’s and men’s spring/summer 2021 line, presented at Milan’s historic Rotonda della Besana.
The show opens with a film by the great Italian film director Luca Guadagnino, an homage to three classic Hitchcock films that have inspired the season’s collection – The Birds, Marnie and Vertigo – as well as to the city of Milan itself.
This film taps into the personal story of the designer – Ferragamo did early work for the movie industry in Los Angeles in the 1920s, finding success in Hollywood by opening a shop for repairs and made-to-measure shoes for nearly a decade, before returning to Italy.
Guadagnino was identified early on by women’s creative director Paul Andrew as a filmmaker who had a rich understanding of not only the mise-en-scène that Hitchcock’s film influenced, but also the cornerstones that are so important to Ferragamo and the creative team. Guadagino’s film I Am Love, reminded Andrew of Hitchcock’s focus on the meaning of gesture and evocation of atmosphere.
“Luca deeply understands our values of craft and design: this encouraged me to propose our collaboration for the presentation of this collection. Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2021 is heavily influenced by the Technicolor vibrancy of some of my favourite Alfred Hitchcock classics, Vertigo and The Birds. To my delight Luca agreed to help evoke that by directing this film, in Technicolor, for Salvatore Ferragamo,” he says.