The success of Alberta Ferretti‘s Rainbow Week sweaters prompted a new capsule idea for Resort. Ferretti is producing a small silk slip dress offering and selling grunge-ified slouchy mohair sweaters to go with them. If that sounds like an unlikely pairing for this Italian designer, who has historically been known for floaty, filmy evening dresses, consider those hit-making days-of-the-week cashmeres, and consider again that all brands must evolve and skew younger to survive.
A subtle rejiggering is happening chez Ferretti. She hasn’t said ciao entirely to her goddess-y frocks, and it’s not as if her target audience is suddenly teenagers. But she is responding to a world that seems to be getting more casual by the instant. Hence those undone slips and knits, and hence, elsewhere, pieces such as easy-to-wear paper bag–waist pants, a drawstring neckline top, and breezy chemisier dresses, not to mention the I-woke-up-like-this feeling of her mix-and-match florals and pajama plaids. Ferretti looked to India for Resort, and it inspired the collection’s prints, jacquards, and embroideries. The floral-plaid combo appeared youngest and freshest. For her established clients, there’s a lush landscape print, most interestingly on a waterproof technical silk trench.
