Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear Fw2013

Federico Piaggi and Stefano Citron presented their collection in a new show venue this year. To the designers the Palazzo della Permanente not only was a new show area but a fresh start for the Gianfranco Ferré fashion house as well. Piaggi and Citron’s new beginnings did not necessarily mean a whole different signature though. They stayed true to their architectural, asymmetrical style. Done in a color palette of simple shades (nude, black, white, navy) the designers presented quite difficult fabric constructions. Dresses, kimono tops and smoking jackets all had a lot of folding, overlapping and layering going on. With accessories like croc obi belts and leather neck creations it was even hard to distinguish one piece from the other. Yet the designers sure managed to keep things interesting.

 

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2013

Sometimes just using black and white in a collection can be enough. At least Stefano Citron and Federico Piaggi – never huge fans of color and print – didn’t fail to impress with their black & white only collection, inspired by photographs of Guy Bourdin, which made for a monochrome colour palette with accents of gold.

Their designs looked ultra chic. Surprising shapes, mixed materials and asymmetrical details gave every look it’s fashion forward touch. A white skirt, strapless top and long black train looked stunning in it’s simplicity. Low V-necks were alternated with fully buttoned sheer blouses and several one shouldered jumpsuits made their appearance too. Perfect legs were revealed in a series of bermudas, cocktail dresses and short skirts. Still, the selection of streamlined longer evening dresses, which had gorgeous leather leave details around the waist and neckline, made just as much impact with their perfect graceful slits.

Citron and Piaggi stepped away from their very architectural shapes and kept things quite simple. A smart decision since this Gianfranco Ferré collection turned out more wearable than ever. The proof that a minimal collection doesn’t have to boring and less often is more.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Womenswear FW2012

There were several really great aspects of the Gianfranco Ferre show today, inspired by Helmut Newton’s photography.

1. Designers Frederico Piaggi and Stefano Citron chose the most stunning shades, from deep emerald green to beautiful burgundy.

2. They opted for strong, architectural looks, which made the models look elegant and confident.

3. They, as did many other Italian designers, played with texture in a modern way.

With a focus on cut the designers created the most original, asymmetric looks. They emphasized the models’ waists by lines or belts and gave the girls more appearance by adding multiple collars.

Unexpected shapes and thick unflattering materials gave the collection a daring allure, which very well fits with today’s trends. Piaggi and Citron may be new at the Italian fashion house; with this collection they surely are on the right track.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2011/2012

Gianfranco Ferre felt kinda minimalistic today, due to the use of very basic shades (camel, navy, white). Yet there were a lot of beautiful details in the collection as well. Like coats with multiple collars or see through silver dresses.

Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi’s fall collection was fairly straightforward and approachable in a sleek, sexy way. They stuck to a lean silhouette — sheath dresses cut to cigarette pants, and clean coats, some collarless and some with lapels only on one side. The dresses fell just below the knee, many detailed in the front, whether with a shiny panel of metallic fabric, a shredded effect, or sheared fur.

As things progressed towards eveningwear, the sheaths came with embroidered banded effects, some of them backless with crisscrossed spaghetti straps.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2011

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2011.

Our Gianfranco Ferré show review will be posted shortly.

For now please enjoy our photos.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show SS2011

Like at Versace, the soundtrack used for Gianfranco Ferre’s fashion show was a song by Talking Heads. Their hit from 1977  ‘Psycho Killer’ was on the speakers and surely had a good rhythm for the models to walk on.

For summer 2011 Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi used a soft color palette with hues of beige, light blue and gray. Light stripes and graphic zigzag prints were added to several looks.

According to the show notes Gianfranco Ferré was going oriental with this collection. This was visible through the sober sweaters with standing colors and the tops that closed diagonally. Perhaps the weird hats (that matched with not one of the outfits) belonged to that theme as well.

Most of the blouses, jackets and pants looked comfy. Yet they also resembled men’s pyjama’s and therefore won’t become a huge hit. On the contrary, some of the double breasted jackets, a few trench coats and the final look (a black & white tuxedo) were perfection.

Unfortunately the collection didn’t breath summer. There were precisely three shorts, no tees, all looks had long sleeves and the models wore too much layers for spring/summer.

Gianfranco Ferré Catwalk Fashion Show Milan FW2010

The catwalk at the Gianfranco Ferré show had the shape of an H, so the audience was divided in two. The enthusiastic people seemed to be sitting on the right side. They applauded for several looks, while the left side just sat there quietly.

The looks that gained the most applause were a shiny gold coat worn by Natasha Poly and a long evening gown with a low back in the same shade. We loved a camel colored skirt worn with a beige top (both with a lot of texture) and a white pair of high waisted pants combined with a white top (both with visible pleats).

Some of Aquilano and Rimondi’s coats were pretty strong as well. They came in black, gray and beige and had lots of leather and fur accents. They were worn on top of some (knee-length) skirts and thanks to the waist belts they emphasized the models’ slim silhouettes beautifully.

The whole collection was, as the designers put it themselves,  very modern, dynamic and super feminine.

Trends ss2010: the nude-look

When we look at the use of color in the spring/summer collections it appears most designers were very modest. Not many of them used bright colors for their clothes. Instead they chose black or white, pastelshades, ivories  or nudes. We already saw the nude-look last season but this time it was more present then ever. Peter Copping proved himself as the king of the nudes in his collection for Nina Ricci. His models were dressed in  different shades of nude from head to toe. Even their accessories had the nude-look going on. Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano only used four different shades for their Gianfranco Ferré collection, nude being one of them. They designed some pretty cocktail-dresses in transparent shades. Almost every collection had some nude pieces.  The nudes made most outfits look ultra-feminine and slightly romantic. Unfortunately it also made many models look pale. But that won’t stand in the way of the nude-look becoming even more successful next season. (Tess van Daelen)

Gianfranco Ferre Catwalk Fashion Show ss2010

Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano only used four different shades to design their SS2010 collection, their third for Gianfranco Ferré. Their short party-dresses and feminine tuxedo-looking suits were all shown in white, ivory, gold or black. By using only these colors the designers lived up to Ferré’s idea that the color of a design is inferior to its shape. A great deal of the dresses were one-shoulder-pieces which had a round shape from the waist down and were worn above the knee. They were made out of transparent wavy fabrics and therefore showed some resemblence to the crimped hair of the models. In some of the designs shoulder pads were used. Most of the looks were finished off with very thin metallic belts, big bracelets and partly open shoes with high metal stiletto heels. The fashion show ended with some theatrical dresses on which transparant veils were attached.(Tess van Daelen)

Milan Fashion Week ss2010 Impressions #5

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