Alberta Ferretti has been on a roll in Hollywood in recent months; her new demi-couture, limited-edition looks have been worn by Regina King at the Golden Globes and Allison Janney at the Critics’ Choice Awards, among others, further cementing the designer’s reputation as a go-to for a certain, current-feeling red carpet glam.
But Ferretti wants to dress new media stars, too, so her ready-to-wear collections have been skewing younger to court influencers like Olivia Palermo and Chiara Ferragni, both front row at her fall 2019 show on Wednesday.
“I dress women for evening and I’ve done that and am known for that. I also want to dress her for every aspect of the day in a more eccentric, personal style,” the designer said through an interpreter backstage. “I think across lots of cultures and bring lots of elements. Women today reinterpret the proposals of designers so it’s a give-and-take.”
Palermo and Ferragni may be too young to remember them, but the Eighties and Nineties were alive and well on the runway, where Ferretti showed the kind of daytime looks-with-a-Western twang we’re used to seeing from the likes of Isabel Marant. Think oversized, patchwork leather jackets, Southwest geometric-patterned knits, cowboy belts and flat-top hats. Also on offer: the military look (jackets with braided fringe epaulets), and the ruffled romantic look (feminine blouses and romantic knits, overalls and jumpsuits), all of it very vintage-inspired.
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Ferretti zeroed in on stylized pants, perhaps in a bid to make them a signature item of the season — high waist and snap front; paper-bag waist, fold-over, pleated, jodhpur, patch-worked leather and more. And she nodded to her eveningwear fortunes with the flowing white gown with crystal embroidered bodice worn by Bella Hadid, that looked somewhat schizophrenic next to retro silver-and-gold Lurex jumpsuits.
Ferretti’s intention seemed to be to offer something for every woman to make her own, on her own social media feed perhaps. But what got lost is a clear sense of what the brand stands for.