Maximilian Davis revisits 1940s workwear through sharp tailoring, Surrealist references and Ferragamo’s iconic F-shaped wedge.

For Spring/Summer 2027, Maximilian Davis turns to the 1940s, reworking the era’s utilitarian workwear through sharp silhouettes, Surrealist references and Ferragamo’s distinctive archival codes. The collection was presented during Milan Fashion Week, with special guests including Igby Rigney, Graham Campbell, Naomi Osaka, Tina Kunakey and Nana.
Davis continues his exploration of the twentieth-century wardrobe by focusing on a period when more women entered the workforce and clothing took on a functional, almost military character. Workwear was designed not only to dress the body but also to shape how it moved and behaved.
“The position of a pocket could influence both the way one stood and the way one behaved,” Davis explains. That idea of clothing as a tool that influences posture and behaviour becomes the foundation of the collection.
High waists, double belts and military-inspired pockets appear on pencil skirts, while the formal discipline of the era is distilled into close-fitting silhouettes that Davis describes as “updated”. Rather than simply recreating 1940s workwear, he strips it back and reshapes its proportions for a contemporary wardrobe.

The collection becomes more intriguing through the tension between restraint and transgression. Translucent latex in clinical tones, leather shirts and glossy python ties bring a fetishistic edge to the otherwise disciplined workwear references. Elsewhere, scarf dressing, one of Davis’s recurring signatures, softens the severity through knotted silks and sequinned draping.
“It was an era when clothing and its structure defined posture and decorum: the position of a pocket could influence both the way one stood and the way one behaved. I wanted to take some elements of that silhouette and update them,” Davis says.

Surrealism, another recurring reference in Davis’s work, returns through transparencies and contrasting materials that evoke the visual effects of rayographs and solarisation. Yet the collection moves beyond Surrealism’s dreamlike imagery. Davis connects the movement to a broader idea of female self-determination, drawing inspiration from women of the period who were taking greater ownership of their own narratives. “I was inspired by the women of the time who were taking ownership of their own narrative,” he explains.
Accessories bring the collection back to Ferragamo’s heritage. The F-shaped wedge, originally designed by Salvatore Ferragamo in 1947, returns as a structural reference in curved-heel pumps, while the Vara bow is reworked for the season.
The Cara Bag and Hug Bag also return in updated proportions, reinforcing Davis’s approach of using the Ferragamo archive as a foundation for continuity. The result is a collection that balances historical references with a contemporary attitude, although the accessories remain more closely tied to the house’s established codes than the clothing itself.

Courtesy of Ferragamo

Celebrities at Ferragamo's Spring/Summer 2027 Show

Faye Peraya. (Courtesy of Ferragamo)

Nana. (Courtesy of Ferragamo)

Nana, Huang Jingyu, Ruby Lin and Faye Peraya. (Courtesy of Ferragamo)

Nana and Huang Jingyu. (Courtesy of Ferragamo)

Faye Peraya and Martina Bianchi. (Courtesy of Ferragamo)

Ferragamo Spring/Summer 2027 Transforms 1940s Workwear With Surrealism

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