Alberta Ferretti (Q39)
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Italian fashion house
- Alberta Ferretti Limited Edition
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Alberta Ferretti |
Italian fashion house |
|
Statements
1974
chief designer
Eveningwear has always been Alberta Ferretti’s forte, her mix of sensuality and delicacy proving a winning proposition. She likes women to be beautiful, and who doesn’t want to look her best and feel special in a dreamy chiffon dress? But seduction is a game that has to be played subtly; Ferretti likes to suggest rather than reveal.“Women want to feel at ease even when they dress for special occasions,” said the designer. For her Limited Edition collection, she indulged her flair for luxe and embellishments, proposing a sense of glamour without detracting from comfort. Being a woman designing for women, she worked on beautifying, body-friendly shapes, proposing two opposite silhouettes. One was sculptural and structured, using substantial silk duchesse in bright colors to give impact to voluminous shapes; the other was ethereal and fluid. “Chiffon is my favorite fabric,” she explained. “It makes dresses almost fly when they move, it gives them wings.” She offered a series of sensual flimsy numbers, with layers of silk georgette caressing the silhouette and plays of loose panels and draping to keep shapes interesting. Ferretti loves embellishments, but here she didn’t overdo her passion for a bit of sparkle; yet a shapely black evening tuxedo was all-over embroidered and dripping with sequins. The leopard cannot change its spots.
20 January 2020
Alberta Ferretti went for sculptural shapes in her Limited Edition collection, a far cry from the wispy concoctions she’s known for. In recent seasons, she has tried to break away from her familiar aesthetic of ethereal femininity, experimenting with a more substantial and modern take on design, expanding the daywear offering, and addressing a younger audience. Here she continued her exploration on new style templates, working on more structured, 3-D volumes while keeping silhouettes fluid and simple. “I like simplicity but not simplification,” she said.What stood out in the collection was the color palette, unusually audacious for Ferretti, who favors paler and dustier hues. Instead she went bold, with bright shades of chartruese, fire red, turquoise, and fuchsia enhanced by the luscious textures of radzimirs and liquid silk satins. It gave impact to a voluminous, dramatic winged cape worn over slim-fitting pants, or to a red carpet–worthy, floor-sweeping number with a feminine bow-front bustier.The play of elongated, simple contours was continued in tiered chiffon dresses and evening jumpsuits with lace-embroidered intarsia and fan-pleated ruches. Sequined minidresses had a svelte allure. Yet Ferretti’s flair for romance cannot be easily dismissed. “We need to dream,” she said. “We need a bit of magic and eccentricity.” No arguing with that. She is ready to provide us with an escape. Just put on one of her delicately sumptuous confections in aquamarine, embroidered with a plethora of shells, coral, and starfish, and deep dive into your magical fantasy.
5 July 2019
Alberta Ferretti is known for a flair for flou, a term that in the haute couture lexicon defines an ethereal, diaphanous silhouette achieved through a free-flowing cutting technique. But in her Limited Edition collection this season, she evolved her approach, moving away from her comfort zone and trying her hand at a more structured look. Apparently, young customers appreciate the high-impact attitude that a shapely, sculptural dress can give.“Sensuality, lightness, freshness: This was the spirit I wanted to express,” Ferretti said. Indeed, the collection felt modern in the neat volumes gracing showstopping ball gowns, as in a gorgeous pink number, where a finely pleated column was enveloped by an undulating spiral of silk duchesse satin. The same wavy motif was transformed into a ruched trompe l’oeil cape, worn off the shoulders over a long, sinuous dress in luminous silver-gray duchesse satin. A series of short dresses had a young vibe; a glam hourglass-y example was proposed in an emerald green shade, with curved sleeves for a bit of drama.Embellishments, one of Ferretti’s most recognizable traits, were kept to a minimum here. The accent was definitely on contoured lines and sleek silhouettes, though a svelte minidress, cut like a T-shirt, was embroidered in silver sequins, and a tailored tuxedo, resplendent with metallic sparkle, had a ’70s rock vibe that looked cool.
22 January 2019
Alberta Ferretti presented her Limited Edition collection in Milan together with Resort during men’s Fashion Week: “People might think I do too many things at a time,” she mused. “But why not? I wanted to showcase my vision as a whole, a complete project that encompasses different aspects.”Limited Edition caters to an international clientele looking for occasion dressing and well-executed, high-end clothes with handcrafted details and exclusive fabrications. It’s also a sort of creative space where the designer can indulge in luxurious play on new shapes, cutting techniques, and embellishments. Yet this season she gave the lineup a decidedly dynamic spin; Ferretti may be known for her dreamy concoctions, but here she kept her designs on terra firma: “I always have a very real woman in mind,” she explained. “She travels and is constantly on the move. That’s why I wanted to capture a spirit of energy and movement in this collection.”The concept came to life with an abundance of silk fringes, which were the collection’s leitmotif; they outlined long scarves peeking out from tuxedo jackets or were appliquéd on black chiffon trousers paired with a matching silk T-shirt. They undulated in warm dégradé colors on a series of evening tunics and swung mixed with crystals and paillettes on a white see-through chiffon caftan.Ferretti also proposed Bianca Jagger–inspired, sharply cut tuxedo suits in black or white cady; yet she couldn’t resist the allure of a bit of embellishment and sparkle. She had an entire pantsuit covered in bright diamanté sequins to glamorous effect.
2 July 2018
Alberta Ferretti indulged her penchant for hyperfemininity in her Limited Edition collection—that comes as no surprise. She was clearly in her element concocting an array of exquisite evening dresses, each one flimsier and more sensual than the other. “My woman is poetic, she adores lightness,” she said. “She’s a dreamer, and women need to dream!” Certainly.The designer is an enduring romantic, yet she has a no-nonsense side. Even if the collection was replete with great occasion pieces of the flowing, embellished type, she’s also well aware that some clients feel confident and at ease with more structured shapes. Being a woman, she understands the need to conceal flaws and enhance best assets. Dreams aside, she smartly introduced more variety into the collection. “It’s a new, stronger Ferretti,” she mused.So, together with languid column dresses in silver silk satin and exquisite filigree-embroidered tulle numbers, she also presented more assertive solutions. She introduced slim raw silk or shantung pants cropped at the ankle, worn with paillette-embellished sweaters or long chiffon blouses; she paired marabou-trimmed silk-velvet aviator jackets with trapeze tunics; and she topped evening pantsuits in black cady with belted jackets. A pajama ensemble swirled with floral motifs and sequins; it looked sensational. Definitely, Ferretti is no longer just the slip dress queen.
22 January 2018
Kendall Jenner was recently spotted in Los Angeles on her way to sister Khloé Kardashian’s birthday bash; she looked resplendent in cropped skinny jeans, stylishly paired with a pair of shocking pink pointy velvet Balenciaga boots, a Gucci backpack, and a sumptuous Alberta Ferretti Limited Edition golden fringed camisole. It goes without saying that the pic went viral and the fringed camisole, too; it sold out within minutes. Jenner is one of the many red carpet beauties who appreciate Ferretti’s ultrafeminine, wispy concoctions: Lady Gaga, Susan Sarandon, Taylor Swift, and Heidi Klum are also fans.Ferretti is smart and down to earth, a win-win combination in life, as it is in fashion. Her approach to the demi-couture Limited Edition collection she launched in 2011 is refreshingly straightforward and nuanced at the same time: “They’re very special pieces,” she explained. “But they’re made for real women, for the lives they’re leading, for the bodies they inhabit, flaws included! I know women, I know how they want to feel in a dress; they are even more beautiful if they’re at ease and confident in the dress they’re wearing.”Yet for all the reality factor, her dresses make you dream. Inspired by the splendor of Mughal iconography with a touch of Hollywood glamour, the lineup was a blend of impalpable fabrics, sensuous cuts, sinuous drapings, and jewel-tone colors. As in the couture tradition, every dress was named: Minuit à Jaipur, Jardin de Rêve, Amour de la Pleine Lune, Vent de Vénus. Lines were kept delicate and liquid, as in a series of sumptuous satin gowns cut on the bias, or in peplums in filmy chiffon. Chantilly lace peeked from short pleated georgette dresses, delicately embroidered with pearls or trimmed with velvet ribbons, and a white organza long dress was so ethereal, it looked made for an otherworldly creature. Did you hear that, Kendall?
3 July 2017
It’s no news that fashion is in a state of transition these days; as traditional rules are being questioned an experimental mode is turning the system on its head. Who knows where we’re going? Anyway, it’s an interesting time, to say the least.Alberta Ferrettijoined the bandwagon, tapping into the current trial-and-error mood, giving a go to a sort of omni-channel format, which included in a single show a see-now-buy-now capsule, the Pre-Fall collection, and the upscale Limited Edition. Also, in order to have the gender issue covered, a few men’s looks were added for good measure.Ferretti opened her stuccoed Milanese palazzo to a coterie of Italian starlets and socialites, which swarmed the sumptuous salons: “It’s like receiving at home in an intimate setting,” she said backstage. When asked to explain her decision to show three separate collections seamlessly, she answered, “I wanted to have a more direct approach to today’s challenging times. Besides, it’s a way to celebrate my creative process as a sort of loop, where one thing leads naturally to another.”The show started with the Rainbow Week capsule collection, which was available online immediately after the presentation. An array of candy-color cashmere-blend sweaters, each emblazoned with the name of the week, were worn with fluid skirts in Chantilly lace. To give equal opportunities to both genders, spendthrift guys were also offered the chance to take advantage of the see-now-buy-now offer. A few angel-faced male models paraded around, wearing fluffy oversize versions of the sweaters paired with flowing pastel-color, lacy palazzo pants. They looked sweet, both the sweaters and the boys.Then the mood sombered, darkening enough to evoke the gloomy elegance of a princess out ofGame of Thrones. Black in countless shades and hues provided the canvas for a stream of fairy-tale-worthy numbers, where the designer’s flair for romance was unrestrained. A riot of flimsy tulles, see-through chiffons, sumptuous dévoré velvets, and intarsia laces were lavishly displayed, their ethereal preciousness heightened by exquisite embellishments and appliqués. Bias-cut or tiered delicate dresses were counterbalanced by evening coats of more substantial feel embroidered with floral motifs.
The last tier of this lovely yet quite titanic tour de force was devoted to the Limited Edition, where Ferretti indulged her passion for a couture-like, high-end version of ready-to-wear, made for special customers or stellar red carpets events. A breathtaking flow of liquid, mermaid-worthy bias-cut dresses in luscious white or red satin were glamorous enough that they could’ve made even the plainest girl next door look like a goddess. Karolina Kurkova, who’s actually quite the goddess even when wearing the plainest T-shirt, was majestic in a slinky gold number with a sexy plunging neckline. The swanky mink stoles embroidered with rhinestones will have all the top celebrity stylists lining up.
16 January 2017
Alberta Ferrettilaunched her Limited Edition collection a year ago in the hotel particulier she acquired when she moved her Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré shop. After two seasons of small-scale tableau vivant presentations, she went the full monty today and staged a runway show. Ferretti is the grand dame on this season’s list of couture newcomers, which includes J. Mendel, Francesco Scognamiglio, Giles Deacon, and Iris van Herpen, back on the calendar after a three-year absence. The Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture seems keen to energize the couture proceedings; Vetements, the holy grail of hotness, is even on the scheduleFerretti was quick to clarify that Limited Edition isn’t truly haute couture. Not everything is made entirely by hand, but it’s as elevated as her work gets, with silk and beaded fringing; crystal, pearl, and metal embroideries; and 3-d fabric reliefs that echoed the wall decorations in the new space, which once belonged to a branch of the Rothschild family. The collection is Ferretti's way of fulfilling client requests for unique special occasion wear, and, in no little part, to please herself. The dresses are available at Bergdorf Goodman and some Saks Fifth Avenue stores; priced in the low five figures, they’re more affordable than some of the couture creations we’ll see this week.The animating idea, Ferretti explained backstage, was movement. Hence the emphasis on the aforementioned fringe, quite 1920s flapper-ish on short little dresses. Ferretti also worked with bias-cut ribbons of silk affixed together by crystals for a similarly youthful effect. Feathers that were actually not feathers, but narrow pieces of silk, decorated the skirts of several numbers; they qualified as the show’s most ornate pieces. Lightness has always marked Ferretti’s best work, and that held true here on long, graceful dresses in black or white that featured insets or stripes of delicate painted gold lace. (The embroidered naked dress was a bit too light.)Ferretti’s collections are often linked to nature. Last season, for instance, she focused on zebra stripes. Here, she picked up on the undersea motifs of the Resort offering she recently showed in New York, a customer-friendly bit of continuity. Sheer bodices were stitched with pearls and shell-shaped embroideries, while a lavish jacquard fil coupe used for a plunge front gown and a doyenne-worthy caftan was a panoply of shades of blue.
A velvet coat with a deep pile was as iridescent as the inside of an oyster shell. The show ended with a grand ball cape. Couture or not, when Ferretti came out for her bow she looked energized.
3 July 2016
The legendary Marchesa Luisa Casati, one of the most enduring inspirations in fashion, servedAlberta Ferrettias a muse for her Limited Edition Fall collection. Casati’s dark femme fatale beauty and lavish display of wild eccentricities mesmerized generations of artists; she was worshipped and hated in equal measure. “What I like about La Marchesa was her untamable free spirit and modern allure,” said Ferretti. “She lived in Venice, whose atmosphere suited her mysterious charm.” The enigmatic decadence of the city was the backdrop of choice for the collection’s video presentation, a new, social-savvy medium embraced by Ferretti with gusto. Filmed by photographers Luigi & Iango, it had a dreamy Malgosia Bela acting asla divinamarchesa, roaming around a Venetian palazzo hypercharged with gilded stuccos. In true Casati fashion, a real, not-so-friendly-looking panther and a bunch of knotted snakes were also in attendance.Ferretti reworked a number of themes borrowed from the debauched aristocrat’s bizarre aesthetic, giving them a contemporary spin. The blown-up animal prints were inspired by Casati’s menagerie of exotic beasts; the obsession with veiling her aging face with layers of dramatic lace translated into dark, wispy dresses; her lissome ’20s elongated silhouette was the template for willowy column tunics. “She was free of constraints, strong and unique but exquisitely feminine,” said Ferretti. “She embodied all the qualities I like in a modern woman.” The collection reflected that spirit, revolving around a counterpoint of soft and structured elements. An abundance of finely embroidered embellishments and appliqués was offset by pure lines and precisely cut shapes; craftsmanship was of a high standard. Ornate 3-D details graced light, almost impalpable fabrics; precious textures had a rich, baroque feel, enhanced by virtuoso techniques of execution. Ferretti’s graceful signature smoothed the excess of drama contained in such an extreme look—it made for a lineup in which glamour had a touch of delicate, modern ease.
25 January 2016
Alberta Ferretti often takes inspiration from exotic motifs picked up throughout her travels. For her new Limited Edition collection, the setting pretty much came to her.Ferretti recently moved her Paris offices into the ground floor of a glorious 19th-century mansion adjacent to her boutique at 43 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. As befitting a home once owned by the Rothschilds, it is lavishly decorated with cherub paintings, friezes, and gilded moldings that vary greatly from room to room. Once painstakingly restored, they provided a perfect story line for Ferretti's Demi-Couture collection."My customers are looking for evening pieces that are precious and unique with more personality, but with the modernity of ready-to-wear," the designer explained. And she obliged to dazzling effect, plucking the rosy bouquets and geometric friezes from the walls and recasting them on a long silk evening gown in the same rich jade green. Elsewhere, a burgundy dress and a beige bustier dress in duchesse satin were hand-embroidered with brass beading and singed velvet flowers, reprising an elaborate floral relief.Ferretti revisited several of her signature haute bohemian silhouettes, adding inserts in pale gold lace; one of the most beguiling items was a draped silver and lavender dévoré gown tied together with a ribbon in woven gold. The final exits, in tightly gathered flounces of pure white tulle, were embedded with winking, droplet-shaped crystals that recalled the Murano glass chandelier. Those looks immediately evoked wedding bells, but the truth is that a free-spirited bride could pick virtually any one of these dresses for her big day. Who needs storybook princess when you could be a Coachella queen?
6 July 2015