Gianfranco Ferré S/S 2010 / MFW / Day two

Cocoons — the theme of Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi’s third collection for the Milanese house — can turn into moths or butterflies. Thankfully, some beauties alighted on the spring runway as the duo eased up on the heavy metal and severe architecture to mine the more ethereal side of the late designer’s legacy. Remembering that Ferré was also a master of the voluminous blouse, Aquilano and Rimondi opened their show with a gauzy white cutaway coat, the structure reduced to pale pink seams and loose gathers in the back announcing the bubble shape, which defined a parade of intricate minidresses.

Each had a slightly different character, with pale, gossamer fabrics pleated, folded or swirled artfully around the body. While the odd shoulder was lashed with a leather belt, the bosom occasionally caught in a weird cage of gold wires and the shoes heeled with forbidding mechanical spikes, the designers mostly resisted the tough to focus on the tender. Even the tailoring was reduced to a pair of satin lapels pinned on sheer T-shirts or terrific, loose tuxedos in crisp gazar.

The Ferré company remains in a precarious position, with parent IT Holding in government-backed administration and a bidding process for its assets already under way. Time will tell if the designers’ tale of metamorphosis takes flight.

















































© by WWD / Photos by Giovanni Giannoni

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