MILAN — Ferragamo’s link with the city of Florence and the arts comes full circle in the fall 2023 ad campaign conceived by creative director Maximilian David for the Italian luxury brand.
As part of a partnership with the Uffizi Gallery — the Florentine museum filled with masterpieces including “The Birth of Venus” by Botticelli and “The Ognissanti Madonna” by Giotto — Ferragamo’s fall campaign, lensed by New York-based photographer Tyler Mitchell, is set against Renaissance artworks from the 15th and 16th centuries, all hanging on the walls of the 16th-century rooms of Uffizi.
These include Giorgio Vasari’s “Portrait of Alessandro de Medici” serving as a backdrop to model Vittoria Ceretti clad in a mannish pantsuit and thigh-high boots, Francesco Granacci’s “Joseph Going to Prison” behind model Lina Zhang in a fuzzy overcoat bearing a leopard pattern, and Piero della Francesca’s “Diptych of Federico da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza” contrasting with the navy blue men’s suit sported by Taemin Park.
Ferragamo’s fall 2023 ad campaign.
Tyler Mitchell/Courtesy of Ferragamo
Other artworks include Botticelli’s “Portrait of a Man with a Medal of Cosimo the Elder” and “The Annunciation of San Martino alla Scala,” as well as Paolo Veronese’s “Annunciation.”
In addition to models, which include Anok Yai, Jessica Stam, Mona Tougaard and Paul Hameline, among others, Davis cast a range of creative types for the campaign, such as creative consultant and strategist Zainab Jama; singer and songwriter Kelela, and sound artist Yasmina Dexter.
In other images of the campaign, Davis and Mitchell sought to recreate the artist’s bottega, or workshop in English, bringing to life tableaux vivant that showcase the process of image making from behind the scenes. Mitchell makes a cameo appearance in those shots, seen from the back while capturing a picture.
“The Renaissance is hardwired into Florence, and Florence is hardwired into Ferragamo. At this time of a new beginning at the house, it made perfect sense to reclaim the cradle of the Renaissance as our spiritual home, and to harness the deep, artistic spirit of this city to showcase the new collection,” Davis said.
Ferragamo’s fall 2023 ad campaign.
Tyler Mitchell/Courtesy of Ferragamo
To be sure, Ferragamo’s link with the city of Florence was cemented when founder Salvatore Ferragamo returned to Italy after spending time in the U.S. and building his reputation as the “shoemaker to the stars.” Originally from the outskirts of Avellino, in Italy’s Southern region of Campania, Ferragamo relocated to Florence, where his namesake company has been headquartered since 1927 at the Palazzo Spini Feroni.
Over the years the company, publicly listed on the Milan Bourse, has contributed to several restoration projects. In 2020 it pledged more than 1 million euros to fund the restoration of a series of large sculptures adorning the city’s iconic Piazza della Signoria, while a year earlier it made a 1.5-million-euro donation to restore the Fountain of Neptune sitting at the heart of the very same square.
Previous donations were allocated to the restoration of allegorical statues on Ponte Santa Trinità in 1996; the Column of Justice in Piazza Santa Trinita in 1998, and the eight rooms in the Uffizi Gallery in 2015.
Ferragamo’s fall 2023 ad campaign.
Tyler Mitchell/Courtesy of Ferragamo
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