Maximilian Davis - Designer, Creative Director of Ferragamo

[vogue28]

Salvatore Ferragamo’s creative director Maximilian Davis has changed the name of the brand to simply Ferrgamo, and introduces a new logo ahead of his debut as creative director during MFW:

 

[Lola701]

Once again, a beautiful logo ruined for an impersonal logo…
Just like what happened to YSL…
I hope the old Burberry logo will comeback too.

 

[LadyJunon]

Salvatore Ferragamo’s creative director Maximilian Davis has changed the name of the brand to simply Ferrgamo, and introduces a new logo ahead of his debut as creative director during MFW:

While I don't like the fact that they changed the logo, I appreciate them not going the sans-serif route. If anything they should have just dropped the "Salvatore" while keeping the font.

Once again, a beautiful logo ruined for an impersonal logo…
Just like what happened to YSL…
I hope the old Burberry logo will comeback too.

I believe that YSL is slowly switching back to a modified version of their old logo. They show it at the beginning of their SS'23 men's show. I would have preferred that they add the "Yves" back or at least call it "Y. Saint Laurent" so the monogram makes sense. I never liked Burberry's logo, so I have nothing to say on it.

 

[Frederic01]

Changing the typeface of a historic brand as a method of generating publicity and media hype is such a stupid and eye-roll inducing move. Seriously.

Besides that, I still struggle to understand how Davis was chosen as the artistic director for Ferragamo given his lack of experience? Experience of course can be overlooked if someone is extraordinarily talented and unique with their vision and aesthetic, but then, I am looking at Davis' clothes and seeing something extremely derivative and lacklustre. Case in point:



MAXIMILLIAN DAVIS

 

[JoCaderone]

FERRAGAMO only follows Maximilian and Rihanna on Instagram, so can we expect some collaboration from riri?

 

[Mutterlein]

Oooh, I quite like it.

The signature they've been using forever needed to go. It looked about as moribund and uninteresting as the brand had become.

I can't ID the typeface but it reminds me of Serif Gothic. If you look closely you can see there's the faintest suggestion of a serif which I assume is a reference to the logo used throughout the 1930s and 50s. It was equally bold and graphic and although very art deco and blocky, it had just the faintest hint of flourish.



So far so good.

 

[Mutterlein]

While I don't like the fact that they changed the logo, I appreciate them not going the sans-serif route. If anything they should have just dropped the "Salvatore" while keeping the font.

I believe that YSL is slowly switching back to a modified version of their old logo. They show it at the beginning of their SS'23 men's show. I would have preferred that they add the "Yves" back or at least call it "Y. Saint Laurent" so the monogram makes sense. I never liked Burberry's logo, so I have nothing to say on it.

View attachment 1216609

Hedi only changed the rtw label back to its original name: Saint Laurent Rive Gauche but dropped the Rive Gauche. He also restored the typeface to a more graphic sans serif (changed it to Helvetica Neue, but it was already a bootleg version of Helvetica anyways) and adjusted the kerning to more closely resemble the original rtw label.

He was going to use the Yves Saint Laurent label for haute couture, as it was originally, but that never really got off the ground.

 

[Norden]

I always thought hedis rebrand for sl was very precise and authentic. The industry that followed should be punished for it. With the arrival of new cds at houses we got tragically bad rebrands. The worst offense is the one at Burberry.

 

[Salvatore]

The logo is missing something. To me, it just looks like a bunch of letters and doesn’t say anything luxury wise

 

[THD96]

Another mediocre capital logo, how original.

They either put a lot of trust in him or these decisions have already been made before his appointment.

These decisions are big and can have a big impact on the brand in long term, considering that he is not even presenting his first collection, they take quite a big risk. What happens if his tenure is a flop and he only stays here for 3 years? Do they change back when the new designer comes?

He better be delivered with his first collection. The clothes can be mediocre because not that many people come for Ferragamo clothes anyway. But he must nail the bags and the shoes. Those are the brand bread and butter. As long as he delivers a good bag with killer shoes, he'll stay.

 

[Lola701]

While I don't like the fact that they changed the logo, I appreciate them not going the sans-serif route. If anything they should have just dropped the "Salvatore" while keeping the font.

I believe that YSL is slowly switching back to a modified version of their old logo. They show it at the beginning of their SS'23 men's show. I would have preferred that they add the "Yves" back or at least call it "Y. Saint Laurent" so the monogram makes sense. I never liked Burberry's logo, so I have nothing to say on it.

View attachment 1216609

Such a waste really. My issue with the change of logos is that in a lot of cases, it’s not about the best interest of the brand but just a pure ego thing from the creative director.
For me, when the contemporary history of a brand isn’t « embarrassing », there’s no need to change the logo because I believe that creative directors should be humble to understand that the brand is bigger than them.
I think that going from Burberry’s to Burberry was a clever move. I’ve always liked the Cassandre inspired typo of the Yves Saint Laurent logo. They did a great thing by dropping the Rive Gauche tho. The Loewe redesigned by M&M was great… Even the Balenciaga redesigned under Nicolas.

I hate the new Dior logo for example even if it was necessary in a sense of unity. But I loved how Galliano allowed himself to play with the logo without changing anything.

Tbh, except for the Loewe logo, all the redesigns of logos since Hedi’s Saint Laurent have been terrible and it has never been about the brand but about the CD wanting to put a stamp on whatever. And all of that for what? A 3 years tenure at best?

And tbh, as a consumer I hate the feeling of having an item that feels « obsolete ».

 

[Mutterlein]

Such a waste really. My issue with the change of logos is that in a lot of cases, it’s not about the best interest of the brand but just a pure ego thing from the creative director.
For me, when the contemporary history of a brand isn’t « embarrassing », there’s no need to change the logo because I believe that creative directors should be humble to understand that the brand is bigger than them.
I think that going from Burberry’s to Burberry was a clever move. I’ve always liked the Cassandre inspired typo of the Yves Saint Laurent logo. They did a great thing by dropping the Rive Gauche tho. The Loewe redesigned by M&M was great… Even the Balenciaga redesigned under Nicolas.

I hate the new Dior logo for example even if it was necessary in a sense of unity. But I loved how Galliano allowed himself to play with the logo without changing anything.

Tbh, except for the Loewe logo, all the redesigns of logos since Hedi’s Saint Laurent have been terrible and it has never been about the brand but about the CD wanting to put a stamp on whatever. And all of that for what? A 3 years tenure at best?

And tbh, as a consumer I hate the feeling of having an item that feels « obsolete ».

My resident expert typographer thinks it's a bit premature to praise or denounce it. She needs to see how it plays out as part of system. So I'm inclined to see how it's applied to the label, online, storefronts, stationary etc.

But they brought in Davis for a reason. Ferragamo, as we already colloquially refer to it, was in desperate need of renovation.

Logos don't get changed on a whim or by ego. This was a task assigned to Davis by Gobbetti. I wouldn't be surprised if it had to be approved by shareholders or a board.

 

[Cocteau Stone]

Yeah they changed the logo, but why on earth is that Instagram post so god damn pixelated/blurry??? They probably spent a lot of money on the change and yet that image is that quality.

I have doubts, such doubts.

 

[Marc10]

One of the few of these changes that I support. The full name was too long, and the old signature logo felt antiquated. This is nice.

 

[Kimihiro]

I actually liked the old logo but I guess this new one matches their ambition? I see logos getting more simplified as the brand gets bigger. Just an observation. Like that Dior uppercase logotype coincided with the brand getting more… accessible and institutionalized. I need to see what he has in store and if it makes sense in the language they’re developing.

On logos: that sans SAINT LAURENT typeface didn’t really worked and looked high street and cheap when Anthony dropped “PARIS” underneath. Made it look less formal. A bit awkward on the packaging. I really liked the typeface/design system Hedi conceptualized for that rebrand. The full blown Cassandre logo type made a dusty impression on me back then and until now so it was time for it to go.

 

[grimm]

FERRAGAMO only follows Maximilian and Rihanna on Instagram, so can we expect some collaboration from riri?

Rihanna to close the show with the baby in her arms. First public sighting!

 

[tricotineacetat]

Such a waste really. My issue with the change of logos is that in a lot of cases, it’s not about the best interest of the brand but just a pure ego thing from the creative director.
For me, when the contemporary history of a brand isn’t « embarrassing », there’s no need to change the logo because I believe that creative directors should be humble to understand that the brand is bigger than them.
I think that going from Burberry’s to Burberry was a clever move. I’ve always liked the Cassandre inspired typo of the Yves Saint Laurent logo. They did a great thing by dropping the Rive Gauche tho. The Loewe redesigned by M&M was great… Even the Balenciaga redesigned under Nicolas.

I hate the new Dior logo for example even if it was necessary in a sense of unity. But I loved how Galliano allowed himself to play with the logo without changing anything.

Tbh, except for the Loewe logo, all the redesigns of logos since Hedi’s Saint Laurent have been terrible and it has never been about the brand but about the CD wanting to put a stamp on whatever. And all of that for what? A 3 years tenure at best?

And tbh, as a consumer I hate the feeling of having an item that feels « obsolete ».

I think we can agree in hindsight that Hedi Slimane's Saint Laurent re-branding was a success, not only from a commercial perspective but also given that the brand is still working to a large part with the holistic aesthetical concept of the brand, years after his departure. Only a few artistic directors can pull through such a project with as much hands-on input as he did and I think the results show that all aspects were created in unison and with equal dedication. When I look at - for example Raf Simons' tenure at Dior, the fact that his input did not touch upon the graphic design and retail spaces (Peter Marino's interiors were pretty much the antithesis to Raf's fashion) resulted in an inconsistent vision to the outside, much as if it was already foreshadowing his tenure there to be short lived.

I'd say Ferragamo belongs to the tier of brands whose potential remains largely untapped, much like Loewe, has been before JWA. If the vision this new guy extends to all other aspects of the brand, I think it makes sense he'd change the logo, too.

 

[Frederic01]

When I look at - for example Raf Simons' tenure at Dior, the fact that his input did not touch upon the graphic design and retail spaces (Peter Marino's interiors were pretty much the antithesis to Raf's fashion) resulted in an inconsistent vision to the outside, much as if it was already foreshadowing his tenure there to be short lived.

To be fair, Raf wasn't allowed to touch the boutique interiors, the packaging, or the typeface. Even to this day, Maria Grazia and Kim Jones aren't allowed to influence the Dior interiors and the overall branding strategy in terms of the logo.

I suspect the reason is that the boutiques and the branding need to be designed for longevity, and therefore need to transcend the frequently changing tastes of whichever creative director is there. That way, when the designer changes and the aesthetic changes completely, there is still some consistency in terms of branding. LVMH is thinking long term.

 

[tricotineacetat]

To be fair, Raf wasn't allowed to touch the boutique interiors, the packaging, or the typeface. Even to this day, Maria Grazia and Kim Jones aren't allowed to influence the Dior interiors and the overall branding strategy in terms of the logo.

I suspect the reason is that the boutiques and the branding need to be designed for longevity, and therefore need to transcend the frequently changing tastes of whichever creative director is there. That way, when the designer changes and the aesthetic changes completely, there is still some consistency in terms of branding. LVMH is thinking long term.

True that, but it doesn't help when the vision of the appointed creative director of all fashion-related lines then doesn't look cohesively aligned with all other visual aspects of the brand, I'm pretty sure neither Raf nor Dior's executives were much happy with this marriage, as the whole experience coming together was not creating a cohesive whole - Maria Grazia's fashion on the other side, sits well within the corporate template created by the house.

Looking back at his earlier job at Jil Sander, I think part of Raf's success there was that the already existing Gabbelini architecture and Peter Schmidt-designed logo were already perfectly working well with the fashion he was then about to unveil. No need for a complete turnaround - And a reason why that house kept with this layout, much like the visuals at Helmut Lang these days are imitating what Helmut did before.

 

[Mutterlein]

Yeah they changed the logo, but why on earth is that Instagram post so god damn pixelated/blurry??? They probably spent a lot of money on the change and yet that image is that quality.

I have doubts, such doubts.

Yes, they uploaded a compressed image file which is frankly, a very terrible mistake given how much money they probably spent to create the new logo!

It's a really amateur snafu that someone from marketing or their art department should have caught and fixed immediately.