Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/1494492
ast September, Maximilian Davis, the 27-year-old British designer recruited to shake up the Ferragamo fashion house, sent shimmer y red ensembles down a matching red gravel runway in central Milan. Models in tight bodysuits with fetish-wear detailing gave way to billowy dresses in flowing chi•on. The updated glamour of his debut collection paid tribute to the label's Hollywood heyday, when Ma r i ly n Mon roe st rode t he red ca r pet in Salvatore Ferragamo's custom-made red crys- tal pumps, while signaling a bold new direc- tion for a 95-year-old brand best known for its women's shoes and leather accessories. In the courtyard of the 17th-century semi- nar y building chosen a s the backdrop for Davis's first Ferragamo fashion show, Daniella Vit a le sat on a stone bench, sur rounded by Salvatore's heirs, taking it all in. "It was such a moving moment," she says, "to see the Fer ra ga mo fa m i ly so excit ed about t h i s new chapter." Vitale, appointed North American CEO for the family-run business in late 2021, has been on t he front lines of fa shion for nea rly 30 years—with stints at Armani, Gucci, Barney's, and Ti•any. She's rarely been as energized by the prospect of big change at a brand. "It's such a huge oppor tunit y to really take this com- pany to a completely di•erent level," she says, "not diluting anything that had been done be- fore, of course." For Vitale, the C-suite appointment was a homecoming of sor ts. She began her fashion career at Ferragamo, after responding cold to a job posting fresh out of college. She started in merchandising, originally working under Salvatore's son Massimo in the New York of- f ice. His mother Wanda , w idowed at 39 in 1960, was still a steady hand behind the scenes, assisting her eldest son Ferruccio, then chair- man of the company, at the headquar ters in Florence. Ferruccio's son James, now director of the leather goods division, was Vitale's in- tern back then. "It was very family oriented," she says, of Ferra gamo in the early ' 90s. "It L HOT DANIELLA VITALE HELPS USHER IN A NEW ERA AT FERRAGAMO—WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ONE OF FASHION'S MOST IN DEMAND DESIGNERS OF THE MOMENT. BY JAY CHESHES BAL HARBOUR 211