"Flop!' Goes Ferragamo

'Racy' would be the look a classic Salvatore Ferragmo devotee would avoid like the plague. Sadly, the same term could be used for Cristina Ortiz's second collection for the Italian luxury fashion house.

Her disappointing debut collection last fall raised a couple of theatrically plucked eyebrows and lost a handful of customers, and you'd think after yet another review comparing her collection to that of a 70's Las Vegas showgirl wardrobe, her second attempt at creating a 'new identity' would fare better than THE SAME OLD (insert adjective of choice here).

New identity or no identity? You be the judge here.

Ortiz toyed with the elements within the house's signature accessories onto her designs, a manipulation that unfortunately, wasn't enough to rescue the Ferragamo trademark she somehow managed to destroy in all of two collections.

Leather shoulder strap complete with buckles on a Ferragamo dress

Dug out from the archives was the classic trench which evolved into a strapless dress while the essential men's shirt was transformed into a bustier - both of which flopped like charred pancakes. The ideas were no doubt interesting, but the execution left many baffled, not in the good way.

A bustier resembling that of the Ferragamo's trademark trenchcoat

Unflattering fits plagued Ortiz's eveningwear; hardly accentuating any curves with fabric scrunched up at the waist and the hips, leaving too much for our imagination. There's a fine line between draping and pointless bunching of fabric, and Ortiz has clearly crossed that line into a whole new territory of her own.

Fabric whammy!

It is unclear what Ortiz is trying to insinuate in her follow up collection, for she is clearly disregarding any essence of Ferragamo in her design and attempting to garner a whole new fanbase of woman who like to look like classy prostitutes. Her weak attempts to do otherwise speak little about her credibilty as a female designer working for one of the most established fashion houses.

As the age-old adage goes: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Fool me thrice? I guess we'll have to see if Ortiz's term in Salvatore Ferragamo would last long enough for that to materialize, wouldn't we?