Ferragamo FW 2024 Campaign Hits a High Note As Reinvention Hits Stormy Seas
/
Culture is deeply embedded in Ferragamo’s [IG] heritage, spanning an imaginary bridge from Florence, Italy to Hollywood and back again to Florence.
Ferragamo’s Fall 2023 campaign was photographed at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, part of a new collaboration between the Italian brand and the world-famous gallery founded in 1581. Ferragamo is set to celebrate its 100-years anniversary in 2027.
We return to Florence and Ferragamo Creative Director Maximilian Davis’ Fall 2024 campaign presented by Lina Zhang, Peter Saville, Raquel Zimmerman, Tim Schuhmacher and Yasmine Warsame. Lotta Volkova styles the campaign shoot with Juergen Teller, inspired by creative direction from Fernando Verderi. / Hair by Moiselle de Pinto Moreira; makeup by Thom Walker
The Ferragamo campaign video is essentially a soundscape orchestrated to the sounds of shoes on Florentine cobblestones. The sounds come close to clacking hoofs at times, which is appropriate because the house of Ferragamo has been first and foremost about footwear.
The Rise Of The Medici Family
Florence was officially established in 59 BCE by Julius Caesar as a settlement for his veteran soldiers. Named "Florentia," meaning "flourishing," it was strategically positioned along the Arno River, which provided both a means of transportation and fertile lands for agriculture.
The rise of the Medici family 1400 years later is a pivotal chapter in the history of Florence, Italy, marking a period of extraordinary cultural and political transformation. The Medici's ascent began in the late 14th century with Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, who established the family's powerful banking dynasty. His shrewd financial acumen laid the foundation for what would become one of Europe's most influential families.
This period followed the fall of Rome in the 5th century CE, and a series of barbarian invasions for centuries. Out of this extended period of turbulence came one of the most influential and enduring periods in human history, with Florence as the hub of what we know as the Italian Renaissance.
The Italian Renaissance Is Relevant
These historical facts are on Anne’s mind because of the timeliness of the Italian Renaissance and its connections to several Italian houses like Brunello Cucianelli and Loro Piana. I don’t think of Ferragamo as a philosophical brand, in the way that Brunello Cucianelli is deeply devoted to the humanist philosophy. But they could be.
In the pursuit of accuracy, there’s no argument to be made that Loro Piana is seeped in philosophy either. However, one weekend in June, AOC’s post on Bella Hadid’s Orabella launch suffered a collision with an Apple News post titled ‘Human Consciousness Is an Illusion’.
As always happens on AOC, my questions to our AI platforms [3] boiled over like a pot of perfectly-cooked pasta preparing an Italian orgasm.
As Florence, Italy emerged from darkness into the new world led by the Medici family, fueling the growth of Florence as a global intellectual capital, the maxim that we are all connected — a bedrock belief of humanism — was taken very literally by the Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi in the late 16th century.
The scholar coined the term panpsychism — which resides close to humanism, but is more focused on nature. I argue that Loro Piana’s brand DNA is rooted in panpsychism, given its deep ties to sustainability and responsible cashmere resourcing for over a decade. And some of the most innovative fabric development on the planet.
Back to the Italian Renaissance, humanism and panpsychism, thanks to Bella Hadid and ‘Orabella’. Where do we find ourselves now — in this moment? In the 2024 American presidential election — that’s where we are.
By now you’ve heard of Project 2025 and the desire of Republicans to decimate the US Constitution. US Vice President Kamala Harris has come riding in on her horse, and I swear to goddess, this fabulous woman is going to become our next American president.
Madame Harris has turned American politics inside out. I feel as if an IV of hope has been injected into my main arteries in the last two weeks, and Anne was in a dark place about America’s future this summer. Absolutely taking on the fight for freedom, but not as a member of any army.
Only a few of us are directly taking on the Catholic Church in America, but the state of our seven Catholics sitting as Supreme Court justices is way too many — when only one believes in the separation of church and state and Trump calls three of them “my justices”. More on this topic another day.
It’s only due to AOC posting Bella’s campaign for ‘Orabella’ that I discovered a partial answer to a question that has haunted me my entire life.
Why is Aristotle so influential in the evolution of civilization — especially among Republican Conservatives and the Catholic Church — when Socrates and then Plato had ideas much more intellectually stimulating and — sorry — far less misogynist than Aristotle’s.
A key intellectual theme of the Italian Renaissance, patroned by the Medici family, and the Italian philosopher Francesco Patrizi was the rediscovery of Plato and Socrates. The Vatican has always had a strong preference for Aristotle, because it’s easier to reconcile his arguments with core beliefs of Catholicism.
The ideas of the Renaissance did not go unopposed. There were fights in the academies about core ideas that are front and center in our own politics today.
The Vatican took the strongest possible position against women getting the vote in America. Our minds were perceived as being not rational enough to take on the civic responsibility of voting, which was men’s work. And Project 2025 is also about sending women back to the kitchen, while they take away birth control in America.
“Who do these MAGA dudes think they are?”
Would the Greeks Have Chosen Kamala Harris As Their Leader?
The devolution of women is very pronounced in this period of Greek history of Socrates to Plato to Aristotle and Alexander the Great.
In the case of electing Kamala Harris as the first woman president of America, Socrates would have said “Why not, she’s brilliant and close to the people.” Plato would have said “Assuming she’s intellectually-gifted with a strong vision for her country, yes, I can see her as the US President.” Aristotle would have said “Are you seriously kidding me? Women are screwups — a deformed male with poor genes.”
And Alexander the Great? I’m not qualified to say anything about Alexander the Great — except that Aristotle was his tutor at the Macedonian Court.
Red Ink at Ferragamo
Many business executives read Anne of Carversville, and I can hear them wondering: “Does Anne know that Ferragamo’s operating profit dropped 41% in the first half of 2024? And she’s focused on intellectual arguments of the Renaissance?”
Fair enough. Net profits at Ferragamo dropped even further in the period at 73.2 percent.
“We are mainly seeing a softness of the wholesale market, both physical and online. Wholesale is going through a period of softness and this is reflecting in the numbers. We have also reduced the [wholesale] network and closed 18 doors in H1 mainly in Europe,” CEO Marco Gobbetti told investors.
Creative director Maximilian Davis’s products, which hit stores a year ago, now represent 50 to 60 per cent of the total offering. Gobbetti told investors that he had noticed a higher proportion of purchases from younger consumers, which is encouraging.
“While the market remains challenging, we are encouraged by the positive operational trends and the growing resonance of our brand,” Gobbetti said. “We will continue to execute our strategy with precision and agility, ensuring we’re well positioned to capture growth opportunities as they rise.”
AOC Believes in an Italian Renaissance for Ferragamo
My instincts tell me that Ferragamo is on the right track — as bloody as the red ink is right now — when global luxury economics have gone cloudy.
All I can say is that AOC never pulls any punches, and I can flip off three big names [and have] that I do not believe are on the right track at all. Worse yet, they have no clear vision of where they are going, and that’s before we discuss the actual clothes appearing on the runway.
This is not the case for Ferragamo, set to celebrate its 100-years anniversary in 2027. I’m rooting for the Italian Renaissance of Ferragamo! And it will take a total blood bath before I jump ship. ~ Anne
