She s come a long way from girly chiffon and folksy boho. From the very first look, a chain-belted sixties fur coat with rounded shoulders, it was apparent Alberta Ferretti would be making interesting strides into a new kind of sophistication. Grown-up wasn t quite the word for it, because these were still clothes for a young woman; it s just that she had synthesized ideas about structure and styling in a way that looked valid for the season, but that was also highly personal.
She can do a little pleated shift, of course; that came second in the show. There was a distinct difference in mood this time, though, apparent in the way she used the reference point of the mod sixties to make a statement of her own. Anyone can do an easy retro show, but Ferretti s individual touch ensured that these clothes—the flat, calf-high boots, the stiff, rounded capes and pod-shape skirts—weren t vintage rehash. She made a hybrid out of fall s heavier black, navy, brown, and gray wools and jerseys and her usual light, romantic pintucks and ruffles, often pulling looks together with the great unifying device of a wide metal-link belt, woven onto suede.
There were many (perhaps too many) different kinds of dresses: short shifts, Empire-line cocktail dresses, almost Edwardian-waist ones. The best were her versions of the long, slim gowns in daywear fabric that have become the Milan trend. She personalized a navy one with a bib of pintucked chiffon shirting, a good example of avoiding the too obvious. As for red carpet, Ferretti sent Carmen Kass out in a stiff gold double-knit Lurex gown—it had a whiff of the sixties, but was very new, too. As we said, a long way from the predictable girly chiffon. Plaudits to her.
