What springs to mind when you think of a 1940s silhouette? Broad shoulders and a nipped-in waist? Knee-length skirts and a general wartime conservatism? That’s how Maximilian Davis’ SS27 Ferragamo show began, as the opening model entered the catwalk in a grey double-breasted blazer dress, its wide shoulders sloping downward into long sleeves, its middle cinched by two patent leather belts. Soon, more models followed in the same 40s mould, but with a freakier edge: pencil skirts dematerialised into softer, sheer garments, men’s suiting was accented with leather collars and ties, while Anok Yai arrived in a teal trench coat made entirely of latex rubber.

“Reflecting the period when women entered the workforce, the composed vocabulary of the era’s uniforms and workwear appear distilled to their essence; reduced and refined; reconsidered through a contemporary lens,” read this season’s show notes. Taking the 1940s as a starting point, Davis continued to expand our conception of what the decade could represent. More latex trenches followed on the runway, on both men and women, while the sloping shoulder blazer dress that opened the show was also remade in sheer caramel rubber.

As the collection progressed, models appeared in increasingly revealing looks. “Fabrications imbue the collection with flashes of fetishism through clinical shades of translucent rubber, leather shirting, or ties rendered in glossy python,” said the house of the collection. Mona Tougaard wore a figure-hugging latex minidress, an injection of 2010s sex appeal into the contours of the 1940s. While shapes loosened towards the close of the show – Paloma Elsesser arrived in an unbuttoned vest and flowing scarf – Yai returned for her second appearance on the catwalk, closing in a showstopping, high-necked sequin gown, refracting tiny pools of golden light onto the audience below. “It was a period where clothing, and its structure, created a certain posture and propriety: when the placement of pocket would dictate how you would both stand and behave,” explained Davis. “I wanted to take elements of that silhouette and modernise it for today.”

Scroll through the gallery above to see backstage images from the show