Alberta Ferretti may be the go-to designer for pretty chiffon gowns, but she injected some edge into her signature feminine silhouettes in her new pre-fall collection. A strong Helmut Newton girl—that perennial fashion inspiration—was the starting point, evident in a dark, moody palette that included black leather skirts, jackets, and body-hugging dresses. Ferretti even played with chains, stringing them like tassels across the shoulders of merino sweaters and a ruched jersey number. When a sheer blouse did pop up, it was paired with a structured charcoal wool pencil skirt. Ironically, fashion as a whole may be moving away from the hard-edged look, but in Ferretti's case, the juxtaposition of soft and strong gave her latest effort a welcome depth. We can't all be actresses with red-carpet appearances every night.
