5 Things To Know About Alberta Ferretti’s Bold But Real SS23 Show
“I think it’s important to not do heavy, dark fashion at the moment,” Alberta Ferretti said of her colourful spring/summer 2023 collection that was dedicated to feeling good. Vogue’s Anders Christian Madsen reports from Milan.
1/5It was a real wardrobe founded in identity
Soft, white fog swept over Alberta Ferretti’s glossy runway on Via Palermo before Mona Tougaard opened the show in a super light cream sheer trench coat sheathed over a buoyant rusty orange top adorned in beaded fringes, and a voluminous auburn tailored trouser. “I love mixing different colours and materials – linen and silk, silk and cotton – because each material changes a colour. It’s important to me to open my heart in every direction, because fashion is creativity. It’s a passion. But I want good proportions for women, not just fashion. I want to contribute to her identity,” Ferretti said backstage.
2/5The palette was key
Above all, this was a collection founded in the power of colour. From sumptuous grass green, amethyst and turquoise to earthy tobacco and burnt sienna, the palette was at once natural and bold, rooted in the outlook Ferretti wanted to inspire. “At this moment, colour is important. It’s summer. We’re opening our eyes, we’re dreaming,” she said. If there’s a tendency in fashion right now to favour to embrace the dismal mood of the world in shrouding, black clothes, Ferretti was killing it with kindness. Tellingly, her soundtrack featured a cover of Eurythmics’s “There Must Be an Angel (Playing with My Heart)”.
3/5It was a masterclass in styling
“This collection speaks to the contemporary, modern woman, who loves fashion but who also loves her identity,” Ferretti said. “Every design begins in identity. Every piece, to me, is an important piece. When a woman buys something and puts it in her wardrobe, it’s nice if she can wear it again later and combine it in different ways. It’s my dream that these pieces become a part of women’s wardrobes.” That ambition was exemplified not only in the realness of the garments, but in the way they were styled: skilfully mixed and matched in organic conversations between tailoring, flou and colours.
4/5Tailoring and flou swapped values
Ferretti cut every piece in her collection to serve the adaptable and versatile needs of the contemporary wardrobe. Bold and voluminous tailoring often felt like skirts or dresses, while those garments in turn had a rigorousness to them that evoked the pragmatism of suiting. “The silhouette is very special because the shape changes according to the woman and the way she walks. A dress changes according to a woman’s personality,” she said, noting that every garment was constructed with the highest attention to artisanality, from latticed tops and “party pants” structured in stones to trousers and gowns created in three-dimensional leaf lace.
5/5Ferretti believes in the power of joyous dressing
“I think it’s important to not do heavy, dark fashion at the moment,” Ferretti said. “I think it’s important for a woman to feel light and beautiful, because whenever you feel good within yourself, you approach the world in a better way. I love life. Every day I say, ‘Okay, Alberta. The moment is not so easy, but it’s important to feel positive.’”
