Bergdorf Goodman will welcome Maximilian Davis, creative director of Ferragamo, to its store Friday for a cocktail party with top customers, influencers, actors and friends.
The designer, who was named creative director in March 2022, will be making his first U.S. appearance at a major retailer. Bergdorf’s is carrying Ferragamo’s exclusive footwear collection, along with the wider collection, as well as the pre-fall ready-to-wear collection.
Exclusive Ferragamo sandals.
Courtesy of Ferragamo
The appearance is timed around the Met Gala, where Davis will be bringing and dressing three guests. Others at the event are expected to also be dressed in Ferragamo.
“Bergdorf Goodman is not just a store; it is an institution. It has an incredible legacy and an understanding of luxury that really speaks to what I am trying to do at Ferragamo. It is about connecting with a clientele that appreciates craftsmanship, history, but also wants something modern and forward-thinking,” said Davis.
Raised in Manchester, England, by Trinidadian-Jamaican parents, Davis had earlier launched his own label, Maximilian, under the mentorship of Fashion East, a British incubator for emerging designers. He was designing his own collection and was shortlisted for the LVMH Design Prize, but had to withdraw because he got a compelling offer from Ferragamo. He debuted his first collection for Ferragamo in spring 2023.
In an interview with Daniella Vitale, president of Ferragamo USA and Yumi Shin, chief merchandising officer at Bergdorf Goodman, they spoke about the importance of Davis’ visit, and their current Ferragamo business at Bergdorf’s.
Daniella Vitale
Daniella Vitale
Asked why they chose Bergdorf to make Davis’ first public appearance, Vitale said that Bergdorf’s represents the paradigm of specialty stores and has the ability to curate and support young designers and mentor them. “Max is part of a big company, but Max is a young designer. They’re so good at that. The combination of wanting our product in this incredible environment, the relationship that Max has with the store, and the love of the store just made perfect sense. We couldn’t think of a better partner,” she said.
Davis designed an exclusive footwear capsule that consists of seven pieces – four sandals and three mules. The sandal colors are forest green, terracotta, gold, and crystal and black. Mule colors are forest green, silver, and amaretti & rose. The mules, for example, retail from $995 to $1,290. Vitale said when she recently took Leonardo Ferragamo [chairman of Ferragamo] to Bergdorf’s, he turned and said to her, ‘Why don’t we have any of these?’ And I said, ‘That’s the idea of an exclusive capsule for Bergdorf.’” Both styles are archival from the ’40s.
“He [Davis] takes a lot of inspiration from the archives, and certainly does not execute in a literal way. He adds an incredible level of modernity to it. He’s been really good using the archives. I’ve never seen an archive like that in my entire career. It’s well preserved, it has everything, shoes, scarves, prints, apparel,” said Vitale.
All the Ferragamo products are featured together on Bergdorf’s fourth floor, but there will also be highlight moments in their respective area. Shin said they are pumped about this exclusive shoe capsule. When they visited the showroom, “we were super excited not only about the development of the footwear, but the handbags and the ready-to-wear, and the modernity he brings. Max has brought such a bold new energy to Ferragamo. What’s exciting as a retailer is to see that the brand is not only evolving under his creative vision, he has thoughtful nods and heritage. This capsule embodies that.”
Yumi Shin
Courtesy image
“He has brought this modernity, but is still very respectful to the heritage. He’s able to animate it in such a new way that it’s appealing to the global customer,” said Shin.
Shin called it a big moment for the retailer. Bergdorf’s has been carrying Ferragamo’s RTW since 2023. Prior to Davis’ arrival, the luxury brand did cut-and-sewns and knits, but it wasn’t a full apparel collection and they didn’t need to be in a specialty store. They did the clothing for their own stores. “The apparel collection is quite new,” said Vitale.
She explained that many young designers come into a design house and blow things up. “He [Davis] did not. He was so inspired by the brand’s history and legacy. We certainly can’t let that define us. He was so impressed with the archives and understood he could do so much with it,” said Vitale. “We’ve had a designer but not on the level of Maximilian, particularly in ready-to-wear,” she said. “He’s really one of the most talented designers I’ve worked with.”
The 30-year-old Davis flew into New York Thursday to do fittings, and planned a meet-and-greet with Ferragamo’s corporate team on Friday. He then planned to visit Bergdorf’s for the product knowledge seminar with employees, and Friday evening he will attend the cocktail party at Bergdorf’s, hosted by Linda Fargo, senior vice president, women’s fashion and store presentation director. Some 100 guests are expected.
Vitale said she’s been pleased with Ferragamo USA’s overall wholesale business. “It’s performing well. Our wholesale business is up. It’s been a little bit of a bumpy season in terms of some weeks are great, some weeks are not. It seems to be how the market does and what announcement we have that day. We’ve had a good season at wholesale, and we had a good quarter in the Americas. We haven’t closed April. Considering what’s going on in the larger context, we’re pretty pleased how it’s performing,” said Vitale.
At Bergdorf’s, Shin said she was very happy with Ferragamo’s business. “We have nice momentum across the board. We’re also seeing growth in all of our customer segments with the biggest growth coming from our top clients.” She said the handbags “have definitely seen a little bit more of a distorted growth and then RTW.”
“We’ve had an exceptional year since we introduced Hug [the handbag line],” said Vitale. This was Davis’ first big bag, “and it’s been absolutely explosive.” After they introduced it, they launched soft Hug and mini-Hugs. “The hardware is consistent with small leather goods. It’s become very recognizable. We’ve done a lot of campaigns around it, both digital and institutional, and the bag has really gained momentum. It’s our number-one bag and it’s more than 50 percent of the business now. And has long runway. We think the bag is going to continue,” said Vitale.
Shin said the Hug is its number-one handbag in the Ferragamo collection.
For the RTW collection, Vitale said that Davis very often draws inspiration from Africa and the Caribbean. “He cleverly took the palette and some of the prints from postcards that showed Caribbean landscapes and flora and were in an ’80s tourist brochure, and… developed a lot of prints….it’s a very beautiful collection. Pre-fall and fall runway were very well received,” said Vitale. She said that Davis is designing both women’s and men’s RTW. “Women’s developed and became a focus. Men’s is a little more commodity-driven right now, but we’re really ramping up in mens in terms of design and finding our language.”
As for bestsellers, Vitale anticipates all the prints will do well as well as the tie-dye series. “All the silk and cotton knits will be really successful. He’s very good on draping dresses and little tops. Bergdorf bought some of the prettier pieces, such as the long blue dress with a wrap waist,” said Vitale.
The footwear features cork, which has been a big material for Ferragamo. A whole series of footwear that is coming for pre-fall is centered around cork and suede and metallics. “It’s a sphere on the bottom of the shoe which is really cute.”
At Ferragamo USA, men’s footwear is the largest category, followed by women’s handbags and women’s shoes, said Vitale.
Vitale said Davis will also be feted Saturday night at Ferragamo’s New York flagship for its best customers, along with a big dinner. Ferragamo’s design team flew over to get celebrities ready for the Met Gala. They’ll go the respective hotels to do the fittings. Davis will be outfitting both women and men in Ferragamo.
Vitale said she anticipates Ferragamo will name a new CEO by the end of the year, succeeding Marco Gobbetti, who left the Florence-based company in March.
