Alberta Ferretti seems to have left the diaphanous dresses that made her famous definitely behind. Taking a turn for the practical, she is now focused on offering more options for the everyday. It’s a fact that our wardrobe needs pants more than evening gowns. Ferretti’s mindset is efficient; she is a down-to-earth romantic.
Radical isn’t a concept associated with the designer’s style or approach. Yet in her quest to make everyday pieces special, as she put it, she played on bold, strong volumes, venturing adventurously into a new territory of more challenging silhouettes. Outerwear was utilitarian, roomy, and robust: There were blousons in substantial washed denim, no-nonsense military cotton parkas, and trench coats with plenty of practical pockets. But the real scene-stealers were the trousers: wide-legged, with extra-long trailing hems, and often closed as a wrapping pareo. Ferretti said they were her replacement for skirts, which were nowhere to be seen; even the few shirtdresses on offer were worn over the jumbo pants. “Eight out of 10 women I see in the streets are wearing pants,” said the designer, for which IRL stats are clearly indisputable.
Ferretti couldn’t keep her romantic touch entirely at bay, however. Broderie anglaise and entredeux lace gave a delicate touch to ruffled collarettes, to linen tops worn under nappa blousons, and to masculine shirts with embroidered details. Although the eveningwear offer was reduced, it was typically Ferretti, and a series of chiffon draped numbers looked covetable. The designer’s approach to romantic, feminine dressing is still faultless.
