“The Renaissance is hardwired into Florence, and Florence is hardwired into Ferragamo. At this time of a new beginning at the house, it made perfect sense to reclaim the cradle of the Renaissance as our spiritual home, and to harness the deep, artistic spirit of this city to showcase the new collection.” Ferragamo’s rising Artistic Director Maximilian Davis said about the inspiration behind the latest campaign shot by none other than superstar artist Tyler Mitchell, platformed by Gagosian at Frieze London last year and at the Fotografiemuseum in Amsterdam, which travelled to New York at the International Center of Photography in 2019.

Nine Renaissance masterpieces, including Paolo Veronese’s Annunciation (1570–75), Botticelli’s Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder (1475), Botticelli’s The Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala (1481), and Piero della Francesca’s Diptych of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza (1467–1472), provide backdrops for the innovative designs.

The Florence-headquartered heritage house exclusively partnered with the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery, which opened its doors to the public in 1769, to stage these stunningly innovative visuals. Models strike poses in front of biblical scenes, Tuscan landscapes, Renaissance temples, and canonical subject matters.

“Ferragamo’s New Renaissance” marks an exciting chapter in the storied brand’s legacy following a rich history and strong presence among European and Latin American clienteles. Its first ‘renaissance’ took place when founder Salvatore Ferragamo left Italy as a shoemaker and transformed himself into a staple of the Hollywood fashion scene. Remember that Marilyn Monroe’s windy underground white dress scene? She wore Ferragamo then. Forever inspired by Florence as the “Jewel of the Renaissance,” Ferragamo shared his inspiration to a star-studded clientele including Audrey Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Sophia Loren, Lauren Bacall, and Marilyn Monore. Madonna paid homage to Argentine figurehead Eva Perón and her love of Ferragamo’s epic creations when she embodied Perón in the seminal 1996 film Evita. Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams by Luca Guadagnino is a must-see.

In this new sublime campaign, model Jessica Stam, sound artist and art director Yasmina Dexter, singer and songwriter Kelela, and model and photographer Malick Bodian, feature in stunning photographs and videos shot by Mitchell making an appearance himself (à la Hitchcock) in the second strand of visuals showing the various new faces of the brand in a slick contemporary studio settings. The grey and white of the studio beautifully contrast with the colours of the Renaissance paintings without outshining the clothes and models. It is undoubtedly the campaign of the season.

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Images: Fall/Winter 2023. Courtesy of Ferragamo.