Salvatore Ferragamo Shows Us How to Make Relaxed Outfits Look Elegant

After his highly praised debut collection for Salvatore Ferragamo in 2017, the talented young French designer Guillaume Meilland is back, revealing more aces up his spring-summer sleeve. The pressure was off, and Meilland, who was appointed menswear artistic director in 2016, could revel in this fact; inspired by the sunkissed rivieras of both Italy and France, his collection was free-spirited yet elegant, nonchalant yet focused.
Still only 35, Meilland has already accumulated an impressive set of credentials. After graduating from the French fashion school ESMOD Paris in 2003, he joined Louis Vuitton to design menswear. A short stint at Yves Saint Laurent was next (where he worked under the influential Stefano Pilati) and then came his eight-year spell at Lanvin. Meilland’s new post at Ferragamo comes at an interesting time: following the departure of Massimiliano Giornetti, the erstwhile artistic director, his role was split into three: Fulvio Rigoni would helm the women’s collections, Paul Andrew, the women’s footwear, and Meilland in charge of the men’s department. Tasked with reinvigorating the venerable Italian fashion house, the trio
While designing his sophomore collection, Meilland confessed to listening to the music of the American songwriter
Relatively muted for the summer season, the fresh and light blues, earth tones, and pastel pinks play a major part in setting the laid-back feel of the collection. For more versatility, these are complemented with a few darker shades such as deep blue and burgundy. There’s a striking simplicity in the choice of solid colors for the majority of the pieces, but when a print or pattern sneaks by (such as the delightful seahorses on the Bermuda shorts), it happens with great aplomb.
As expected, the leather accessories, particularly the bags and shoes, played an equally important part in this show. The thick rubber-soled slip-
This story was originally published in the Month Year issue of Town&Country.