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Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62

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  • zamb
    Senior Member
    • Nov 2006
    • 5834

    Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62



    From WWD



    Quote:

    MILAN ? Gianfranco Ferré, the man dubbed the "architect of fashion" for
    his sculptured silhouettes, died Sunday night at the San Raffaele
    hospital here after being hospitalized for a brain hemorrhage. He was
    62.


    Official statements from the Ferré fashion house and its owner, IT
    Holding, are expected today and details of the funeral are still being
    formalized. According to an IT Holding spokeswoman, the company is
    still grieving. A decision about what to do about the house's men's
    wear show, slated for this coming Sunday, will be made shortly, she
    said.


    Ferré was among those designers who generated the boom in Italian
    fashion in the Eighties and into the Nineties, making Milan in those
    years the center of the fashion world. WWD dubbed him the "Frank Lloyd
    Wright of Italian fashion," while his staff referred to him as
    "l'architetto Ferré."


    His clients included Sharon Stone, Elizabeth Taylor, Oprah Winfrey, the
    Queen of Jordan, Paloma Picasso, Bernadette Chirac, Claude Pompidou,
    Sophia Loren, Princess Diana, Princess Michael of Kent, Marie-Helene de
    Rothschild and soprano Jessye Norman.


    Strong willed, nitpicky and at times short-tempered, Ferré had a
    personality as large as he was as a man. With an interest in everything
    from architecture to fine food, art to cultural history, Ferré always
    seemed to be restraining himself from either making a joke or having a
    temper tantrum. In conversation, there would always be a slight twinkle
    to his eye.


    "A civil man. The image that comes to my mind when thinking of
    Gianfranco Ferré: A man of dignity and calm with a sense of
    responsibility which always accompanied him," said Giorgio Armani on
    Sunday. "We knew each other for many years, although not very well, as
    we both started our careers in what was a special moment for Italian
    fashion. However, I always observed his work and particularly admired
    him for his coherence and the intellectualism and artistry upon which
    he based his fashion philosophy until the end. The greatest sign of his
    character was in that constant expression of absolute independence."


    Added Donatella Versace: "I am extremely sad. Ten years after the death
    of my brother I have lost a dear friend. He was a gentleman of another
    time. He was an innovator in terms of form. He created fashion that was
    both spectacular but impeccable at the same time. He was a great
    courtier that knew how to create absolute chic with details that I'll
    never tire of lookingat and that will remain a part of the history of
    fashion."


    Ferré believed that fashion needed to be stimulated by other
    experiences obtained in different fields, periods, cultures and, above
    all, from art. "I think I have done my utmost to ensure that my style
    is constantly and consistently enhanced by a broad variety of
    suggestions, inextricably linked to my passions, my taste and my
    experiences," he once said. "It is not difficult, for example, to
    identify, in the various collections over the years, my love of the
    figurative arts, the great classical painters and, even more, the
    strong and simple sensitivity of modern and primitive art. The
    references to worlds and cultures I have experienced personally,
    particularly in the Far East (India, China, Japan), are easy to see, as
    are those to the important experiences of Western culture, from Baroque
    to Neo-classicism, Romanticism to Decadentism."


    According to Roberto Cavalli, "Ferré embodied the highest level of
    style, craftsmanship and creative bravura. He was a true artist, pure,
    a beautiful person that [Italian fashion] will truly miss."


    Ferruccio Ferragamo, chairman of the family-owned company said that
    Ferré "strengthened the ?Made in Italy' style and his ready-to-wear had
    an unmistakable, consistent elegance. He will be remembered for his
    remarkable persona."


    Ferré was inspired by elegance from the past and by such names as Dior,
    Balenciaga and Worth, to all of whom, he noted, today's fashion
    designers owe something, as well as the shared heritage of sartorial
    skills and elegance of the European style.


    "I really admired him, he was a very generous person, a friend and
    esteemed colleague, who always greeted me with visible pleasure with a
    big bear hug," said Anna Molinari.


    Mario Boselli, head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion, remembers Ferré
    was one of the main protagonists of Italian fashion. "A unique one, who
    excelled in ready-to-wear and couture at the same time. He also had a
    unique education, he was a creative genius with an architectural and
    cultural basis, who still had a lot to say," he said.


    Born in Legnano, a small town close to Milan, Ferré secured an
    architecture degree at Milan's Politecnico University in 1969 and made
    his fashion foray in the Seventies thanks to fashion veteran Walter
    Albini, with whom he stated designing costume jewelry and accessories.


    In 1978, he founded his namesake fashion house with Franco Mattioli,
    his longtime friend, adviser and business partner, until the two had a
    falling out in 1999.


    In 2000, after a bitter tug-of-war that lasted more than two years,
    Gianfranco Ferré and Mattioli sold 90 percent of the company to Gruppo
    Tonino Perna, the parent of Italian fashion group IT Holding. Industry
    sources say GTP paid between $150 million and $175 million for its
    stake in Gianfranco Ferré SpA.


    "I am very happy to have concluded this deal with GTP," Ferré told WWD
    during an interview at the time. Ferré said he worked on the sale every
    night after dinner ? and on Sundays ? together with his management
    team. "I have always respected GTP for their consistent appreciation
    and support of my work. I chose them because they can offer me so much
    ? distribution, management, new projects."


    He added that, "This agreement respects my creative independence and my control ? and power of veto ? over the creative team."


    Tonino Perna, chairman of IT Holding, said Sunday: "I was very honored
    to work 10 years with this great man of genius and creativity who
    represented Italian style and fashion the world over. His creative
    genius is so strong that it will leave an indelible impression in
    fashion history. He really became the DNA of our group."


    Perna went on to praise Ferré's dedication to his design staff of 40
    and to young people whose talent he fostered. He said it was typical of
    the designer that Ferré's last public appearance, on Thursday, was at
    Milan's Politecnico University, where he was speaking to a group of
    students.


    As for the future, Perna said the company will continue to work hard to
    honor Ferré's vision "to realize his dream and continue his legacy. We
    feel very responsible for this inheritance of his work and creativity."


    Ferré held his first fashion show at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in
    1978 and gradually built his reputation on graphic shapes, artsy
    constructions and precision-cut tailoring that exalted a woman's
    femininity, at times with a gender bender streak.


    Not one to rein in when it came to embellishments and ornate details,
    Ferré's designs were never for wallflowers. His clothes were classic
    yet powerful, he loved a good suit and offered endless variations on
    the white shirt theme, courtesy of exaggerated cuffs and collars,
    embroideries, ruches and ruffles.


    For Ferré, fittings were among the most exciting stages in the birth of
    a collection, the moment when his sketches bounced to life. He would
    walk among the models, their bodies like strings of spaghetti next to
    his imposing girth, and quietly give orders. Ferré in fact had always
    battled with his weight and had already suffered several strokes in
    recent years.


    "Gianfranco Ferré has the sweetest blue eyes, but when he's mad, those
    eyes become like knives," said Katell le Bourhis, fashion adviser to
    the president of Christian Dior in 1999. "But the anger doesn't come
    from a big ego. It comes from wanting to do the job right."


    In 1984, the designer launched his first fragrance and in 1986, tried
    his hand with couture, an undertaking he shuttered when he joined Dior
    in 1989. Today Ferré is a global, lifestyle package that includes
    secondary lines, eyewear, accessories, home collections, fragrances and
    directly operated stores.


    Bernard Arnault's decision to tap Ferré to succeed Marc Bohan as
    creative director at Dior after 30 years came against all odds. The
    fact an Italian was to steer the creative reins at a French house was
    scandalous to say the least.


    "I really had no idea of the scandal I had triggered, also because
    everything happened so fast," said Ferré during an interview at his
    Milan headquarters in May. "Back then, the fact that I was Italian
    created lots of problems. Luckily, though, my French wasn't that bad."


    But over the years, the French developed a liking for Signor Ferré, who
    made a point of keeping Dior separate from his own brand.


    "Ferré was about tradition in a mannish way, with contrasting elements
    and ample volumes, while Dior was more conservative, more about
    grandeur," the designer said.


    For a good six months, Ferré gravitated closer to the Dior universe by
    dipping into the archives. Season after season, his collections shifted
    design focus as they celebrated dandy, Renaissance, dash for cash,
    tailoring in all forms and Snow Queens.


    Fashion critics, though, didn't always treat Ferré's efforts kindly, which he still recalled vividly.


    In March 1993, International Herald Tribune fashion critic Suzy Menkes
    wrote, "?The conclusion is that Ferré will never be a great couture
    designer," calling his couture an "artistic flop."


    "She was so harsh, but I did try to extrapolate constructive criticism in what she said," the designer said earlier this year.


    "I really feel sad personally and on behalf of the company," Christian
    Dior president Sidney Toledano said Sunday night, shortly after
    learning the news of Ferré's death on French television. "I extend my
    sympathies to the family."


    Toledano said many workers in the atelier worked under Ferré, who was
    Dior's couturier from 1989 to 1996. "They respected him," he said. "I
    will see the atelier (Monday) morning first thing."


    Ferré recently remembered his Parisian days chez Dior as "unique and
    grandiose. An experience that I will never regret. I think that I
    turned Dior into something real and alive without betraying the luxe
    factor and its clients," he said.


    In 1998, when asked by W whom he would like to succeed him he
    responded: "After all, many Italian designers are putting into place
    structures that will allow their companies to continue long after they
    retire. I haven't given it much thought." Ferré says after a moment.
    "But one thing's for sure. Whoever he is, he'd better be strong."


    Ferré is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, as well as his
    cousin, Rita Airaghi, who until recently was also his communications
    director. ? With contributions from Luisa Zargani, Amanda Kaiser and
    Miles Socha

    “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
    .................................................. .......................


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  • Faust
    kitsch killer
    • Sep 2006
    • 37852

    #2
    Re: Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62

    Wow, 62 - that's young these days. RIP, though I was never a fan.
    Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

    StyleZeitgeist Magazine

    Comment

    • zamb
      Senior Member
      • Nov 2006
      • 5834

      #3
      Re: Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62



      Yea, it suck, 62 is really not that old,



      it seems he was not taking care of himself, as they said he ghas suffered two previous stokes, had Diabetes but did not heed his doctors instructions to maintain a specific diet/ rest regimen.



      One of the mistakes we mortals make in life is that we get caught up with stuff around us, to the point where we boecome almost like slaves to it..........



      them we allow our occupation with "stuff" to ruin us, only for whatever it is, to continue after we are gone



      RIp Mr. Ferre.





      I was and still am a huge fan of his work, Never liked all of his ideas but i admired the execution and elaborate details that went into his womenswear................. ( i have a couple of dress shirts and this amazing blazer i bought for $10!)



      His workwas always visually arresting, and sometimes otherwordly, and while Arman(y)i[:)] was simplifying, and Versace was sexualizing , Mr Ferre remain a craftsman and a technician at heart ................................ and thats why i am such a fan

      “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
      .................................................. .......................


      Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

      Comment

      • laika
        moderator
        • Sep 2006
        • 3787

        #4
        Re: Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62



        Very sad news indeed.....things do not bode well for Italian fashion, it seems. [:^)]



        Zam, I would love to see some images of the aspects of his designs that you admired, as I feel rather uninformed about Mr. Ferre's work...

        ...I mean the ephemeral, the fugitive, the contingent, the half of art whose other half is the eternal and the immutable.

        Comment

        • zamb
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2006
          • 5834

          #5
          Re: Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62









          SS 2007















          “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
          .................................................. .......................


          Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

          Comment

          • zamb
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2006
            • 5834

            #6
            Re: Italian Master Gianfranco Ferre Dies at 62



            Laika, those are probably not the best examples but they shlould suffice for now, as im in the office and dont really have the time to search, i will probably post more later.



            i think the most interesting thing that attracted me to His work was/is that he designs for the kind of woman that i am attracted to and would like to date...........



            I dont like too fragile and delicate of a woman



            and he designed for (at least his clothes are cut that way) a woman that always seems strong and powerful, someone who could be my best friend (which is what i want my girlfriend/wife to be)



            It is the same approach that i take to the clothes that i design , clothes for woman with a masculine edge

            “You know,” he says, with a resilient smile, “it is a hard world for poets.”
            .................................................. .......................


            Zam Barrett Spring 2017 Now in stock

            Comment

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