If there is one brand that can claim ownership of red, it’s Ferrari and for fall, creative designer Rocco Iannone kicked off the collection with a series of looks in that color that screamed “energy and light,” which he said were his starting points for the lineup. But, at the same time, “there is no light without darkness,” he contended, veering into a group of allover black looks.
The play on contrasts was not only in the palettes as Iannone worked with structured and fluid, shiny and matte, and treated denim with a special resin that resulted in a sort of glass patina. The latter was intriguing but, for example, a pouf skirt looked a bit stiff, as did the pants and shirts combo in a silk and metal weave.
Iannone has over the years spoken of his interest in couture constructions, fabrications and unique materials and this season he did not hold back from experimenting with hand painted leather, or embroidered shiny chains on lattice yarns. Organza had a reflective look and froissé velvets an iridescent hand.
There was some strong tailoring, and his blazers had a defined waist and sculpted tapered sleeves.
He morphed the driving shoe into a ballerina — also for men — in crinkled leather with a square toe or an ankle boot.
Iannone has been building the fashion business for the brand, paying tribute to its history but also injecting his own vision, which has been gelling. But while this season there were some strong looks, others felt a bit forced.
It isn’t easy building a luxury fashion brand from scratch, even one based on such an illustrious history. Iannone’s collections thus far had been purring as smoothly as a Ferrari car engine, but this season he stalled a bit.
