Tokyo, April 24th, 2014 - Salvatore Ferragamo paid homage last night to its longtime partnership with ISETAN unveiling a fun, delicate collection drawing name and inspiration from Savannah, one of its most iconic foulards. A passionate naturelover, professing a strong predilection for exotic animals and wild flora, Fulvia Visconti Ferragamo chose a zebra to be the protagonist of Savannah, here depic ted surrounded by a joyful multitude of flowers, butterflies, dragonflies and little parrots. The zebra, as is customary with Ferragamo foulards, is formed by an elaborated, bi-colour patc hwork (patchworks being a recurrent theme in Salvatore Ferragamo's original creations) of exotic flowers and leaves - a tromp l'oeil combination that draws loose inspiration from the 16th century painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo.

Silk foulards, launched in 1972 as part of the Spring Summer collection, immediately became a distinctive trait of the Florentine maison, as iconic as its legendary footwear and a must-have for the most admired style icons of the time.
Throughout more than four decades, the initial style of the prints has gradually evolved towards a more realistic representation of the animals, yet remains distinctively delicate and feminine. Foulards quickly began to serve as inspiration for other Ferragamo creations, the beautiful prints used not only to line the most precious coats and raincoats, bags and shoes, but also to invent new dresses and shirts, favoured today by international celebrities - Catherine Zeta-Jones, Drew Barrymore, Karolina Kurkova and Bianca Balti, among others.

The new Savannah capsule collection is a fresh, lively reinterpretation of the zebra motif. It develops a variety of items in the shades of grape, red and blush, the new colour of the season, including the hair-calf Scotty loafers and the famous Varina , featuring an ironic zebra lining. The same lining is found in two sophistic ated totes made in soft nappa and nylon, with a placed floral print, decorated by playful and delicate floral applications, a testimony to the highest craftsmanship standards that are distinctive traits of Salvatore Ferragamo's unique style. A range of leather and silk accessories and a small selection of ready-towear, including a sophisticated and feminine printed twinset that is a recurrent forte of the Ferragamo creativity, complete the Savannah collection.

Presented at 10am yesterday in Tokyo at ISETAN, where it will be available in worldwide exc lusive, the collection was housed in a magnificent greenhouse display created for the occasion by Japanese botanical artist Makoto Azuma, who was asked to echo the creative idea that stands behind the collection and enhance its spirit of freshness and lightness. The setting was inspired, the artist declared, by the density of green savannah flora, the animals running around the earth, the wind blowing in the jungle, the sunshine on the trees and featured a multi-leaves work obtained folding and piling thousands of leaves of several species on the outside walls, while vegetal chandeliers hung from the ceilings. The presentation was also the occasion to announce the debut, at the end of the month, of Ferragamo's e-commerce in Japan, accessible also through tablets and mobile devices on ferragamo.com.

After the official launch, festivities continued last night with an elegant seated dinner offered by the Italian ambassador His Excellency Domenico Giorgi and his wife at their official residence in Tokyo, to honour Ferruccio Ferragamo, Chairman of Salvatore Ferragamo. In town for the occasion, internationally acclaimed Italian jazz pianist Danilo Rea performed exclusively for the 100 guests, highlighting once more the strong bond between Salvatore Ferragamo and the highest expressions of Italian art. In the applauding audience, a mix of the most important names of Japanese art, culture and economy: Princess Takamado, a longtime connoisseur and admirer of Italian culture, models Emiri and Mayuko Kawakita, actress Rei Kikukawa, and Berlin based artist Hanayo with her daughter Tenko.