At only 28 years old and in just two seasons, Maximilian Davis has transformed the century-old Ferragamo into the brand everyone wants to wear now. Vogue Arabia meets with fashion’s rising star in Florence.
Photo: Bohdan Bohdanov
To some, red is the color of passion. To others, a color of fear. Some civilizations associate red with power and majesty. For Maximilian Davis, the recently appointed creative director at Ferragamo, red was the perfect color to coat the floor and walls of the 500-year-old palazzo of the former Archbishop’s Seminary in Milan, when he presented his much-applauded debut collection for the heritage brand last year. This is not the only drastic move that came with the appointment of the young British designer. Fearless, Davis has fully rebranded the fashion house from day one in the office, starting with the name and the logo – dropping Salvatore and altering the typeface to a modernist take on a classic font (serif) – to adopting the new flaming shade. “When someone arrives at a brand, they need to change the whole perspective of what the past was, and the way we can energize and renovate what we have,” shares the 28-year-old creative in his atelier in Florence. “First, though, was to focus on the brand’s name, to make it easier to refer to. The next thing was the color. I feel that every brand has a shade, which really helps it to be recognized. Red has many meanings behind it. For some it’s anger, but for me, it’s romance, sensuality, and passion. Ferragamo did have a dark Bordeaux, almost like a red, so I didn’t want to change that too much, but rather provide a new energy to the color. Honestly, these were the steps that I was thinking of even before my first day at work.”
Ferragamo SS23
Maximilian Davis
Starting with a bang, besides the brand’s new visual identity, a shift in the style of clothes was immediate. Worn on his scarlet runway by an inclusive cast of models –under a rain shower that…
