ML - Michigan Avenue

2013 - Issue 6 - October

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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Massimiliano Giornetti, creative director for Salvatore Ferragamo. S hould you ever have the opportunity to play host to Massimiliano Giornetti, the creative director for Salvatore Ferragamo, be sure to take him to Millennium Park, where he most definitely will want to visit Cloud Gate. "I'm in love with the artwork of Anish Kapoor," Giornetti explains, name-checking the Indian-born artist who conceptualized the 110-ton, mirrorlike bean sculpture. "Chicago is such a beautiful city, and I love how the sculpture reflects the skyline—how you see this reflection in his work." The 41-year-old Giornetti knows a little something about how to seamlessly blend modernity with classicism: As the creative director of Ferragamo since 2010 (he joined the label in 2000), he has excelled at crafting sublimely chic collections that feel wholly of-the-moment, even as they subtly reflect the codes of the house. "Being with the Ferragamo family for such a long time really gives me the key to read the codes and also understand the desires and expectations of the family," he says. "And it's 124 such a dense archive, filled with genius. What's not to love?" His Fall/Winter 2013 collections showcase this balance, a seemingly effortless mix that combines his love of Italian tailoring with a sleek, undeniably modern sensibility. And then, of course, there are the accessories—leather goods that likewise reflect the season's yin-yang feel, from structured top-handled totes adorned with the label's signature Gancio lock to new takes on the Vara pump, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. "In the last two seasons, accessories for me have really been the key point," Giornetti says. "I want the ready-to-wear to be much more lean in a way and not overwhelm the focus. I like to say that the ready-to-wear is the accessory of the accessories; they are where the brand started, so every season they must be the starting point." You can gain a sense of how Giornetti conceptualizes the current Ferragamo universe in another statement that recently received its own chic update: the brand's boutique at 645 North Michigan Avenue, which over the summer underwent a dramatic refurbishment that included the much-needed addition of a second story. Roughly 35 percent larger and now measuring 8,725 square feet of selling space, the boutique reflects its Florentine roots in its design, as stone flooring meets plush wool rugs, and custom walnut details blend with Italian-made furnishings. It's a fitting environment for both Giornetti's designs and for the Chicago audience, he says, noting that the city, largely because of its architecture, easily ranks as one of his favorites. "I'm looking forward to coming back again because I have beautiful but freezing memories of a visit to Chicago during Christmas," he says with a laugh. "It's an extremely important hub and destination "Salvatore Ferragamo really did have the soul of a genius." —MASSIMILIANO GIORNETTI for luxury and for the fashion consumer, so for us it was a perfect city in which to try this new store concept. Aside from the necessities and desires of the Chicago consumer, it also fits very well within our thoughts of how to place the Ferragamo collection in its proper environment." The Fall women's collection, Giornetti says, likewise plays well into his thoughts for the brand's Chicago clientele. There's an undeniably Mod vibe running through the collection, seen in the MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 122-125_MA_FEAT_Massimillano_October13.indd 124 9/18/13 10:21 AM

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