MILAN, Italy – There are two ways to approach the task that Maximilian Davis accepted when he signed to direct the house at Ferragamo. Observe and reinterpret the house’s codes for the modern day, or ignore them. It won’t come as much of a surprise to those who’ve followed Davis’ boundary-pushing vision that he chose to opt for the first path.
For Spring/ Summer 2026, however, the codes were respected both in fit and construction—but with a slight twist. Leaning on the house’s archives, an image of screen star Lola Todd first sparked an exploration of the ‘Africana’ movement during the jazz age of the early 1920s. “I was interested in how certain materials, prints and textiles were imported from across Africa and the Caribbean into America and Europe to become a sign of status,” noted Davis. Fair enough.
To move forward, you have to dial forward: and this season — which distilled offerings from silk satin devoré animal prints, plongé leather jewellery to fringed embellishments — embraced a new take on the Roaring Twenties. Davis chose elegant cuts, a clean ambience, and breezy elegance as a starting point.
Semi-spiral seating, a black carpet, and dark chairs were all laid out upon guests’ arrivals, emphasising a liberating glamour through textures that had a fuss-free, gauzy quality to them. Also, winsome: peak-easy suiting, straight-cut slips inset with lace cut-outs, dresses with dropped waists and low-slung backs.
This approach extended his research board. “This was a moment where women were creating a new femininity – it was a celebration of freedom, a reclaiming of self,” explains Davis. “It was a period when people were creating spaces for themselves and rebelling against societal norms – and that spirit translated into people’s wardrobes.”
Some ideas adapted better to clothing than his actual ideologies. The graphic cuts and colour-blocking separates of the era were mirrored through vibrant patent leathers, alternating moments of utmost sheerness. That’s a lot of conceptualism for one collection alone. On the menswear front, the most attractive and certainly easier-to-wear options were the sportier sides of the lineup’s offerings: simply city separates with enough slouch to breathe through summer.
by Chidozie Obasi