Collections —Man / Prêt-à-Porter
Fall / Winter — 1984
Press Release
The places: Dublin, the north of France, the Baltic coast. “Mist and a smell of fog, an icy haze which chills everything”.
The sensations: comfort, ease. “The fabrics are a double framework, bulky and seemingly heavy. Lots of tweeds with a touch of cashmere. Soft long ties which fold lightly under the knot. Super-light leather specially greased for the sports jackets, with bellows pockets soft as a folded glove”.
The search: simplicity. “The patch on the sleeves: I like it, it is solid, traditional. And it is an authentic gigantic patch, which follows the movement of the elbow. In the pullovers I have put it over the ribbing, stitiche so that ithas an irregular trend”.
The memory: the ways of dressing classically. “Trousers with darts, completely lined, in lambswool and shetland. Long overcoats, oversize jackets just above the knee, motoring coat type”.
The allusions: journeys, departures, frontiers. “Over coats with reversed sheepskin collars reminding me of the Gare de Lyon. Certain beiges, greys, stones have an Irish flavour. The sweaters with white and dove grey cables like a game of tennis in the middle of winter, on some court near Paris”.
The effects: influencing fundamental rules, transforming them. “The blouson has the structure of a reduced duffle-coat, with metal clasps. But it can also be in light tricot lined with duvet, an unusual plush cotton padded and puffed”.
The certainties: the respect, the regulation. “The wool waistcoat worked in old-fashioned stitches. The black or blue chalk stripe, which is a strictly formal chalk stripe, with a shirt in pink or beige brillintine. An all-black evening, declining to slate grey with white shirts. And a black facecloth overcoat, Chesterfield style, madras lined”.
The exceptions: the upside-down habits. “I have interpreted the tuxedo: a heavy honeycomb jacket, without silk lapels, classic trousers with a shiny side band. No designs on sweaters, only wide and crossed-over ribbing, very elastic. Plain colors”.
The nostalgia: life as it was. “I have tried to obtain an opaque blue, like old overalls. The greys are like slate, like certain lichens… I have never been to Ireland, but I imagine it like this… Contradictions of blue and vivid red.
The overcoats become… rough, casual overcoats: nappa-like sheepskin, big overchecks, soft trench coats, with a loose lining which moves to and fro at every step. As is my practice now”.
(from a conversation with Gianfranco Ferré on 4/1/’84)