Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi got the Fall memo about simplifying and streamlining. With the Bauhaus movement and samurai costumes for inspiration, their latest collection had a more understated sensibility than their previous efforts, a welcome development.
In the past this duo has tended to favor heavy embroideries and overly complicated constructions, but today's embellishments were mostly of a subtler variety: A precisely cut gray tweed suit came with a leather panel down the front of both the jacket and the skirt, while a gorgeous camel alpaca coat had sharp, contrasting lapels.
Of course, this wouldn't be the house of Ferré without flourishes. The designers called their new look "decorated minimalism," and it was a fitting description for a sleek long-sleeved, zip-front dress with woven leather insets or a caramel chiffon strapless number with delicate geometric pintucking. Come evening, a nude jersey gown with a shiny harness was less well judged. But some of the long dresses, which were spliced with curving panels of sequins or a glinting flash of gold patent leather, demonstrated the designers' new, lighter touch.
