Collections —Woman / Prêt-à-Porter

“Instinctively, intentionally I finetuned my fashion vision even further this season, heightening the concept of luxury ready-to-wear by accenting the sumptuous traits of the same…

Keying in to the wishes of the woman who appreciates this sense of luxury, who is learning to make these values her own in absolute autonomy, I purposely distanced myself all the more from a certain artfulness, focusing instead on pure clothing design. Thus I came up with new proportions, developed an unusually open-ended collection of formulas: short, long, pants worn at will. Responding to all needs of modern life but from a particularly forward-looking viewpoint…

To give emphasis to forms I made use of supple, body-hugging stretch fabrics, plus other sturdy, full-textured ones requiring no lining. I also chose to eliminate all overlappings, encumbering elements: to allow the woman who wants to dress in these clothes, in luxury, greater space in expressing her own fancies and dreams…”

Gianfranco Ferré

Logical references, observations and reflections.

What’s new about the black suit? The unusual proportions thanks to the wool/silk or cotton/silk crêpe. But no less unique is the total wearability deriving from the use of stretch fabrics, in this case a cotton poplin shirting. Skirts long and short, trousers too. Thus shoes alternately more mannish or more feminine, the latter slipper-light with a sharp three- or four-centimeter heel.

Men’s suits for women’s clothes.

Taking advantage of a strong, sure femininity, the male formulary offers, for example, certain drapery-type lightnesses for increasingly body-hugging forms.

Sense of composure and apparent asceticism for garments oriental of inspiration.

Collarless suits, hidden buttons, neat sleeves. Jackets resembling ultrashort kimonos, with small anatomical shoulders, seriously interpreted by double silk gabardine. Simple T-shirt dresses cut on the bias, wonderfully natural of drape. Otherwise in a straight body-skimming version.

Timeless creations, almost seasonless, for an elegance at once pinpoint and basic.

Little form-fitting jackets worn without any shirt underneath. Free round shirts, smaller than usual, in transparent organzas and voiles capturing an out-of-focus image of the body.

The freedom of lightweight swimwear.

In a fine lingerie jersey, white and black. Or in satin and knit stretch for a glamorous movie-star look.

Alchemist effects in terms of materials.

Magical textile mixes, imaginative color tones… The most classic men’s fabric, here in a coarse rayon, becomes similar to black-and-white African scarves. Plastic scales give shape to an imitation pythonskin; playful chips cover T-shirts and skirts set off by a dark blue sweater. Bands of black and white organza fashion the sheerest of plaid skirts. Bright tinfoil renders fabrics glossier than ever.

Smart colors.

Black, black&white, gray, blue, Ferré red: an urbane palette above all responding to the intent to establish a lasting, harmonious wardrobe. And then notes of ultramarine blue and jade green for inventing surprisingly personal combos, revealing a true respect for the realm of dressing.