The architect of Milanese designers, Gianfranco Ferré thinks structurally and visualizes his designs around the image of an Amazonian diva. His Fall 2002 collection hit all the signature notes of his career, both in Italy and at Dior in Paris, and bore witness to his lifelong creative obsession with white shirts, the uses of leather, innovative tailoring and Japanese-influenced details.
For day, Ferré's updates looked best in a beige, rough-textured cardigan that wrapped over a white shirt and cinched at the waist with a leather obi, shown with pants, and in a belted, black, fur-lined sweat-jacket with a tight skirt cut with a kick flounce in back. His bias-cut Prince of Wales check pantsuits, meanwhile, showed his fiercely immaculate expertise in tailoring. For evening, Ferré's operatic Italian leanings were indulged in an entrance-making white organza blouse, one sleeve blooming with a cascade of ruffles like an overblown flower. Ferré also addressed the new Fall trend for pushing knitwear into uncharted territory by converting chiffon and taffeta into yarn and knitting them into complex open-stitched evening skirts and gowns.
