Collections —Man / Prêt-à-Porter

“Mariner people amidst an urban setting, in a hypothetical and ever modern city (Genoa, maybe Marseilles), a port with its intense atmosphere and bustling encounters… this is the milieu I had ideally in mind for the collection… In this borderline location, where frontier stands for mingling and contamination, personal fantasies, imaginative voyages and memories, traditions and formalities are deep, certain freedoms and deliberate exotic touches can co-exist. Tuhs I give apparel for men a new mood by accentuating the forms, seeking out the whiteness of sailor uniforms, mixing the customary appeal of sporty colours. But I also put emphasis on the severity of manners and modes, reinterpreted in a range of solutions which from work clothes head firmly toward more technical concepts. l followed a route where diverse stories come together and intertwine spontaneously: the perfect gentleman in a seafarer style resembles the eccentric, the military evolves into the technical, the deep-sea diver inspires essential look…”

Gianfranco Ferré

FORMS

Snugger, closer to the body, with shoulders falling anatomically thanks to a rounding or loosening up of the suit’s construction. But there are also fuller, fluider sensations for an ease of movement and overall comfort. The silhouette becomes longer. Trousers, jeans too, shape it upward. Shirts come in soft fabrics, often jersey, to diminish volume; otherwise, they simply give way to T-shirts and, in the city, to turtleneck pullovers.
Precise images of diverse modes of dress take hold in a selection of world-traveler looks. Chinese shirts, including the short ma-kua waistcoat, worn with trousers in a darkened jute-cloth. Closefitting clothes, almost starched, shiny and black, in a southern tradition. The impeccably pressed white sailor’s uniform, pleats still in sharp evidence. The formula of white and black, white and brown, white and beige, conservative of style, now freer and smoother of spirit.

COLOURS

A predominance of blue, in tones deriving from different cultures. Chinese and Mediterranean blues. Persian lacquer shades, bordering on violet. Genoa blue, indigo. The hues of hemp and jute. Striking and phosphorescent red. Motifs wild and mysterious, a cross between the forest and mosaics.

ACCESSORlES/ SPECLAL FEATURES

Typically mannish solidity and ease. Flexible netting waistcoats and pouch-bags. Removable inside pockets with clasps for holding telephone, billfold or portfolio. A lightweigh techno silk/ cotton/ nylon blend. A futuristic rubber /nylon blend for the ultralight jumpsuits. Shoes with rubber soles, espadrillas in silk marocain or shantung, for a light step.

MATERIALS

At once full-textured and airy for a summer breeze feel. Linen printed on the reverse, both sturdy and light, jute-cloth of effect. Interesting crêpe weaves. Seersucker made [rom tubular or crushed fabrics. Viscose lightweight and often liningless for jackets. Open-work knit often in mix with tricot-effect fabrics. Leat hers seemingly crushed and squeezed. Solid silver buttons, silver-plated buckles darkened by time.