Ferragamo SS27 at Milan Fashion Week: Maximilian Davis Reinvents 1940s Codes with Latex and Leather

MILAN — What typically springs to mind when the conversation turns to the fashion silhouettes of the 1940s? For most observers, the era evokes broad, padded shoulders, sharply nipped-in waists, knee-length utility skirts, and a general sense of wartime austerity and conservatism. Yet, during Milan Fashion Week on Saturday, September 27, 2026, creative director Maximilian Davis chose to approach this historic vocabulary through a completely unexpected lens. For Ferragamo’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, Davis took those classic mid-century structural templates and brilliantly remade them using unconventional, high-gloss materials like latex, supple leather, and shimmering python.

The presentation opened with a striking nod to the traditional tailoring of the period. The very first model stepped onto the catwalk wearing an impeccably tailored grey double-dress blazer. The garment featured the characteristic wide, commanding shoulders of the 1940s that sloped downward into long, structured sleeves, its middle firmly cinched by two patent leather belts. It was an immediate establishment of the historical reference point, grounding the collection in a recognizable era of structured workwear and disciplined tailoring.

However, as the show unfolded, it quickly became apparent that Davis was not interested in a mere historical reenactment. Instead, he introduced a distinctly subversive, contemporary edge to the proceedings. The traditional pencil skirts of the era began to dematerialize into much softer, sheer garments that played with transparency and movement. Men’s suiting, meanwhile, was sharply accented with unexpected leather collars and ties, injecting a dose of modern texture into classic menswear archetypes.

The tonal shift of the collection reached a visceral high point when model Anok Yai stepped onto the runway wearing a teal trench coat crafted entirely from latex rubber. It was a bold statement that underscored the collection’s core tension: the collision between rigid historical propriety and modern, fetish-inspired sensuality.

Official show notes provided by the house elaborated on this conceptual foundation. “Reflecting the period when women entered the workforce, the composed vocabulary of the era’s uniforms and workwear appear distilled to their essence; reduced and refined; reconsidered through a contemporary lens,” the notes read. Taking the 1940s as a foundational starting point, Davis continually expanded the audience’s conception of what the decade could symbolically and aesthetically represent in a modern wardrobe.

Following Yai’s appearance, more latex trench coats emerged on the runway, worn by both male and female models, proving that the material was a central pillar of the season’s design language rather than a mere one-off gimmick. Furthermore, the sloping-shoulder blazer dress that had originally opened the show in traditional wool was reinterpreted in a sheer caramel-colored rubber, further blurring the lines between classic tailoring and avant-garde fabrication.

As the collection progressed, the garments grew increasingly daring and revealing. The house noted that these choices were deliberate, stating that the “fabrications imbue the collection with flashes of fetishism through clinical shades of translucent rubber, leather shirting, or ties rendered in glossy python.” Model Mona Tougaard exemplified this aesthetic shift by wearing a figure-hugging latex minidress, effectively injecting the distinct sex appeal of the 2010s into the disciplined contours of the 1940s silhouette.

Yet, the collection maintained a dynamic rhythm, eventually loosening its structural grip as the presentation neared its conclusion. Toward the final sequences, silhouettes softened significantly. Model Paloma Elsesser appeared on the runway wearing an unbuttoned vest paired with a flowing, effortless scarf, offering a moment of relaxed fluidity after the precise tailoring and restrictive rubber of the earlier looks.

The grand finale brought a return of high drama. Anok Yai made her second appearance on the catwalk to close the show, wearing a showstopping, high-necked sequin gown. As she walked, the dress refracted tiny pools of golden light across the audience seated below, providing a luminous and memorable conclusion to the presentation.

Speaking backstage about the conceptual origins of the collection, Davis reflected on the psychological and physical impact of mid-century fashion. “It was a period where clothing, and its structure, created a certain posture and propriety: when the placement of a pocket would dictate how you would both stand and behave,” the designer explained. By examining how historical garments dictated human movement and posture, Davis found a compelling challenge. “I wanted to take elements of that silhouette and modernize it for today,” he concluded.