When fashion becomes art: Ferragamo and J.Salinas shine in Milan | Canada Voices

The conclusion of Milan Fashion Week presented two extremes. By day, there was talk of craft, historical references and restraint. By night – at least on certain runways – it was all flash and famous faces.

Roberto Cavalli, Dolce & Gabbana and Ermanno Scervino delivered nightclub vibes with tight, lacy, nearly nude looks. Megan Thee Stallion made a statement in the Cavalli front row, radiating the same fierce energy as her 2022 Billboard Awards performance of Savage. Ultimate ’90s icon Kate Moss closed the Gucci show in a tight evening gown, while Madonna featured in Dolce & Gabbana’s final bow.

On the other side of things, two big moments ushered in a biennale feel.

It wasn’t Prada that led the charge – surprising given Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’s predilection for injecting their collections with art-inspired intellect. Instead, the Prada runway featured 15 models in sloppy, layered looks (some resembling travellers who had piled on clothes because they couldn’t fit everything into their luggage), performing the old-school routine of changing backstage. Still, there was enough visual interest for the eye to linger on: utility capelets, white boots with thick, hockey-like laces.

It was Ferragamo’s creative director, Maximilian Davis, who made the biggest statement. Shown at Milan’s temple of design, the Triennale di Milano, the collection referenced watercolour painter Charles Demuth, known to modernist groupies as the godfather of Precisionism and an obsessive chronicler of naval scenes. That inspiration was clearly visible in the sea of pea and opera coats, each one flowing with sharp, geometric accents such as long rectangular collars and nautical button styles.

Davis kept his touch light and precise, giving the palettes and materials the floor. The colour blue was cross-examined, moving from the humorous – a fisherman’s sweater styled so its collar points were literally three sheets to the wind – to fresh interpretations devoid of cliché. A sweater with cobalt and periwinkle tones and a beautiful midnight-blue leather jacket looked as if they’d been plucked from the 1920s and gently deconstructed.

One of the irrefutable stars of the show was a sheer violet and slate blue dress with delicate cross-lacing at the legs. It may sound unwearable, but it was the opposite – much of Ferragamo’s offerings felt fresh and sellable to a range of types and tastes. This also played out in the casting of the show, as Davis was one of the only designers in Milan to feature a size-inclusive cast of models.

The designer’s crowning touch was the finale dress, which floated by Tracee Ellis Ross and Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni in the front row. The black pleated number was shaped like a bell jar and softly cinched at the ankle.

Another spectacular runway presentation came from Peruvian designer Jorge Luis Salinas of J.Salinas. Showing alpaca wool dyed dusty rose, Dijon and shades inspired by the monstera plant – known as the marvel of Peru – the collection was a joy to watch. If the models trotted down the runway in a queen-like manner, that was intentional: the show, Virreinato, drew inspiration from the Viceroyalty of Peru, a period beginning in the 1540s that Salinas wanted to bring into focus. “This collection reclaims the Viceroy crown through its motifs, which come from months of research about what the kings and queens of the time wore,” he said backstage. Symbols ranged from Peruvian flowers to insignia.

Those less familiar with the country’s remarkable fashion history may have detected a Shakespearean quality in the looks: accentuated necklines, pronounced shoulders with coat of armour-like detailing and silhouettes that, in the wrong hands, might have rendered the models human doilies.

The designer employed artisans from across Peru to help construct the intricate pieces. “By hand-picking these great women, who know how to manipulate the fabric and cultivate past designs that are close to our history and culture, I was able to combine my own futuristic vision of Peru into the clothes with theirs,” he said. Some of the dresses took three months and six hands to finish, including Salinas’s own, he added.

By the end of the week, the contrast between Milan’s two fashion weeks was clear: from club nights to collections worthy of museum walls, the city showed it can both party and celebrate the art of fashion.