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?
