MILAN, Italy — There is a new design director of mens ready-to-wear at Salvatore Ferragamo after last season's interim led by the team. His name is Guillaume Meilland, and he comes from Lanvin. Did things change radically? Not at all. In fact, Meilland's presence was barely felt in a rather sombre collection that looked like a continuation of an ongoing discourse on soft tailoring, cropped jackets and massive shoes.

The Ferragamo man, admittedly, has never fought for attention. He belongs to the shy category, and prefers the sartorial whisper to the outlandish shout. With its elongated silhouettes and hazy sense of colour, this was an ode to understatement. A bit random, tellingly, and lacking a zing of coherence. This was not the only problem. A show demands a certain showmanship, and the ability to create desire around pieces. The goings, instead, got dry a tad too quickly, while the design felt a bit nondescript. Meilland needs to solve the problem. He has the means to do it.