Alberta Ferretti’s show opened with a strapless gown cut from suiting fabric in boardroom gray. With its internal corsetry, the shape was signature Ferretti, but the fabric was unexpected. It’s not a dressmaker’s material, but a tailor’s. “For me,” she said backstage, “I like when the woman is a little bit eccentric and feminine.”
For the better part of 40 years—Ferretti launched her namesake line in 1981—she leaned hard into femininity, developing a reputation for her light hand with pretty party dresses. More recently, she’s pushed further into other categories, experimenting with casual daywear and expanding her outerwear offering. This season, there was a preponderance of shearling, worn cinched at the waist with a sturdy belt or open over pantsuits that she topped with wide-brimmed hats. The word swaggering comes to mind.
It’s not necessarily a natural fit for Ferretti, who is at her most convincing when she’s exercising that light hand she’s known for, be it on a scarlet red velvet slip dress with subtle flounces at the hips that accentuated its hourglass shape, or on a long sleeved black jumpsuit with a twist and sash of material at the waist that had a similar winnowing effect.
Lingerie dressing has been one of fashion’s most persistent trends of late. This is Ferretti’s natural territory, so the last portion of the show was devoted to it via a series of sheer black slips of varying lengths in lace, mesh, and jet-embellished net. Equally feminine, and definitely more versatile were a couple of looks that incorporated sheer elements with tailored pieces—an embellished chiffon skirt under a tuxedo dress, say—for boudoir-ish vibes without the full-on naked dressing.
