Brand diversification, however bizarre or perilous it may seem, is a completely legitimate operation. Simply, it capitalizes on the media and cultural resonance of a brand to transfer it to an area that is not immediately contiguous. Despite this, the‘announcement almost two years ago, that Ferrari would have added fashion – very different from the merchandising that has so far delighted fans – to its activities has aroused many surprises and perplexities.
The charm of the factory show
The doubt was largely cleared yesterday with the first Ferrari Style show, held in Maranello in the assembly line, among the machines under construction. A spectacular parade, halfway between the robotic and the human, between the futuristic and the artisanal, which is the beauty of Ferrari, a place where futuristic and performing car models are still molded with clay, to but no. The capable Rocco Iannone, invested with the role of creative director and with the not easy task of guiding a strong automotive identity towards a fashionable identity, he opted for a classic, or rather humanistic approach.
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The spirit of the collection according to the designer Rocco Iannone
«Clothes and cars are both built around the body – he explains -. And for Ferrari around the values of performance, innovation, aesthetics and craftsmanship. The real result of this operation, however, is cultural, because Ferrari is part of the collective imagination“. Undoubtedly it is like this: cinema and newspapers have forever cemented Ferrari in the public’s imagination, so much so that everyone, enthusiasts or not, immediately makes the association to see a red car. This ease of recognition is as powerful as it is difficult to handle in the case of brand diversification.
From the design of historical models to the silhouettes of the dresses
Iannone follows a shareable, admittedly literal line of thinking: transforms the design of the most famous Ferraris into intricate outerwear constructions, while the logo and the graphics become allover prints on silk and jersey, or run on the ribbons of the long belts which, it is clear, will have to replace the t-shirts with the pony in the wishlists of the fans. The collection, and here is the real diversification, is not aimed at those who already buy Ferrari cars – you imagine them, perhaps wrongly, adults in tailored suits -, but to a younger audience, indeed very young: the same one who decreed the success of Off White and Balenciaga. The language then is inevitably pop, hypervisual, graphic, colorful. It could also have been more so, to tell the truth, since Ferrari can expect a flamboyant roar rather than adherence to the status quo. But it is nonetheless a decisive statement, a programmatic declaration of an aesthetic position.
Seasonality and research on fabrics
Unraveled in 52 fluid looks, with the welcome addition of voluptuous femininity, and destined to span an entire year – Ferrari will only be showing once, escaping the established calendars – the debut program is a good start, to be adjusted here and there. Responsible research on fabrics and sporadic openings to a world that is not only youthful is commendable. Building an identity in fashion takes time, after all, even more so coming from another world and with a name so full of history and meanings. The basics are there.