Ferrari Debuted Its First RTW Clothing Line — But Not Everyone Was Happy
Some Instagram users claimed a few of the brand's designs were pretty similar to those of other designers.
From assembly line to runway, Ferrari debuted its first-ever runway collection on its factory floor. For about two decades, Ferrari has lended its globally recognized shield to merchandise, from shampoos to T-shirts, for a boundless number of brand partnerships. However, with its focus shifting from exclusively manufacturing luxury sports cars to sartorial ventures, Ferrari has ceased a number of prior partnerships in an attempt to position the brand as a luxury fashion stakeholder as well. “This is not a side project,” interim Ferrari CEO John Elkann told the New York Times. But the brand’s debut drew some skepticism on social media.
The premiere of Ferrari’s first ready-to-wear collection is undeniably a monumental milestone for the brand's extensive history, and the robust line’s streetwear-inspired designs, dotted with racing strips, sharp angles, and bold colors, reflected that history. However, the collection was met with some backlash. “Ok...two thoughts about @ferraristyle ’s debut RTW collection: 1) Why? 2) Is it just a mashup of Versace, Prada, and Off-White?” @diet_prada captioned a post about the collection. While some commenters echoed this sentiment, other users praised the brand for expanding its reach, overall justifying the venture by saying, well, why not? “There’s nothing wrong with trying to expand your business,” one user commented. “I think it’s actually a very smart move, considering the clients they have. And I don’t hate it, I like it, I believe it’s definitely hard to come up with something 100% original since the goal is to appeal the mass and the mass has already a base taste. I’d buy.”
Mixed bag of opinions aside, several commenters did point out some specific similarities they noticed between some of Ferrari’s pieces and items other luxury fashion houses have sent down the runway. More specifically, commenters noted the belt featured in Ferrari’s collection with a repeating logo bears a noticeable resemblance to Off-White’s signature logo belt. “They made a mistake by trying to copy the off white belt….. that’s TOOO obvious, they didn’t even try that hard to make it look different,” another user wrote. Others noted similarities between some of the collection’s shapes, silhouettes, and prints and those of Versace and Prada.
Ferrari has yet to publicly comment on this speculation. (Elite Daily reached out to Ferrari regarding the social media backlash but did not hear back by the time of publication.) Regardless, the debut of Ferrari’s inaugural RTW runway collection is certainly a turning point in the brand’s history.
