Daily Front Row

2008 September 22

Gianfranco Ferre - Milan Spring 2009

Comments | | Print

Gianfranco Ferre Spring 2009
View Gallery

(MILAN) Their eyes were watching Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi; while a fleet of hired cars idled on a ridiculously picturesque cobblestone street at dusk, the well-regarded 6267 designers unveiled their inaugural collection for Gianfranco Ferré. It's no news that the house needed a new identity following the death of its namesake designer last June. And the new creative team is poised to carry Ferré into the years ahead. "The difficulty was to work with a big style, a big identity," said Aquilano. "We have a small identity, but we wanted this a lot." The show began in the only way it could-with a white blouse, albeit made of silk organza and carrying plenty of sash. As a whole, the clothes reflected what Ferre did best-sculptural, elegant pieces with a twist. At moments-most notably the several bubble-sleeved jackets and oversized organza collars-the designers almost out-Ferré-d Ferré. The effect was a humorous one, despite the fact that these are indeed serious clothes. The austere, respectful palette of white, powder, black, and dove grey was given an opalescent shock, thanks to high-tech metallic fabrics and organza, organza, organza. After the show, Carlos Souza squired Rachel Zoe backstage, where the stylist showed off her heavily-annotated run of show, with certain looks already hand-picked for those starry clients. Could the house of Ferré be any more ready for its close-up?