A question mark lingered over Tommaso Aquilano and Roberto Rimondi s second Gianfranco Ferré show. The label s parent company, IT Holding SpA, declared bankruptcy earlier this week, and it s not entirely certain that this collection will actually go into production. That s a shame, because the designers have demonstrated not only an appreciation for Ferré s legacy, but also an ability to finesse the trends. They evoked the late "architect of fashion" with a white off-the-shoulder blouse with a very prominent bow, but mostly focused on today s currents, channeling the eighties by way of Queen Elizabeth I. "It is a very positive association for us," said Rimondi of this season s most popular decade to reference. "It s when we were young." As for the ruffs? Simple: "We loved the Cate Blanchett movie."
They opened with a pagoda-shouldered coat with seams lined in tiny, burnished gold studs and a stand-up Elizabethan collar. A peak-shouldered jacket, jumpsuit, and dress, all in black, intermingled with the pagodas—but it wasn t just a silhouette story they were telling. Aquilano and Rimondi have an eye for texture. A pair of jackets combined bouclé, cashmere, and alpaca for a genius moiré effect. Sometimes things did get clunky. Tape and paillette embroidery weighed down one lean skirt, and a few bubble dresses nearly suffocated the willowy models. But an evening dress in bottle-green velvet, crepe marocain, and duchesse satin was as chic as anything that s come down the runway this season. Whatever happens to the house of Ferré, these two have a long future ahead of them.
