Women's Ready-to-wear
Spring/Summer

“Contradictions that recombine, opposites that coexist, purity and an intriguing sense of sin. For the woman who wishes to be angelic yet is aware of having a body – and that body is intensely and naturally sexy – I imagined a way of dressing that changes every rule. In the play of opposites, I brought together tendencies and tastes that end up attracting one another: the short and the ultra-long, the essential and the opulent, the subtlety of a line clinging to the body and the pleasure of volume. To create a slender figure, an elongated line with the flavour of a refined primitivism”. 

Gianfranco Ferré

1997

An imaginary silhouette: slim and clear, almost like Giacometti’s plaster figures, emphasised by garments that are close-fitting and near to the body. A taste both precious and poetic: matte yet rich fabrics, golden patinas, splendours of stone and gemstones. Aurora pink, pink in all its nuances, gold and bronze, exotic wood tones. 

In the subtle desire to reclaim ornament, to dress once more with refined exaggeration, fabrics seem to come from a Wunderkammer, a cabinet of curiosities. Washed marocain, tricot, gazar, paper-like taffeta, crumpled and stained organza, silk faille washed and pressed. To reveal its soft soul beneath a crisp appearance, viscose flow like silk, shantung glid fluidly. 

In the pleasure of surprise, jeans appear in pink or blue silk denim. Astonishing. Noble materials and refined fabrics create iridescent, opalescent, mother-of-pearl effects. 

Excerpts from the collection press release

Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 10. Model Yasmeen Ghauri.
Look n. 10
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 11. Model Honor Fraser.
Look n. 11
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 48.
Look n. 48
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 53. Model Stella Tennant.
Look n. 53
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 65.
Look n. 65
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 68. Model Adriana Sklenaříková.
Look n. 68
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 78.
Look n. 78
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 83. Modella Amit Machtinger.
Look n. 83
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 91. Model Tricia Helfer.
Look n. 91
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Spring/Summer 1997, Look n. 92.
Look n. 92

Women's Ready-to-wear
Fall/Winter

“Scents, shadows, a voluptuous haze that seems to envelop the figure, the delicate sound of a long necklace. Allusions, fragments of memory, images that appear to multiply like reflections in a prism. I designed this collection thinking that, in our culture, the desire for simplicity is imbued with a taste for refined complications. The idea of doubling is no longer enough: what seduces now is the luxury of linings glimpsed beneath the surface, the voluptuousness of slender straps embracing the ankle, the exoticism of small, elongated shoes with a vaguely Orientalist spirit”. 

Gianfranco Ferré

1997

Sensations. A pervasive impression of sensuality runs through everything: even garments of sporty origin are so slender that the softness of the body can be sensed. As in Eastern tradition, the body slips into the dress and the dress moves fluidly around the body. No nostalgia – rather, a vague aura of exoticism and culture. 

Substantial yet soft fabrics. Wools that are already on the reverse reveal satin stripes. Cashmere supported by elastomers, lending the fabric a different kind of aplomb. 

Alchemies. Shaded crocodile, leather-toned marabou, pauses of shadow cast by small tufts of fur, impalpable wools transformed into coats. 

Brushstrokes. Colours mixed, layered, shaded. Intense caramel flares into red; red vibrates beside silver; blue becomes magnificent through varied sheens; icy browns are animated by matte and glossy effects. Reflections of stones and flowers: deep turquoises, topaz, darkest purple, Oriental violet. In the most precious moments, pale, ethereal tones: powder, alabaster, pearly velvets. Light floral designs are concealed by iridescent georgette, shadows of embroidery surface beneath silver tones, carrying a sense of fresh poetry. 

Excerpts from the collection press release

Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 8.
Look n. 8
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 33. Model Naomi Campbell.
Look n. 33
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 42.
Look n. 42
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 55. Model Naomi Campbell.
Look n. 55
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 67. Model Sandra Chudzinski.
Look n. 67
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 82. Model Eva Herzigova.
Look n. 82
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 90. Model Honor Fraser.
Look n. 90
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 91. Model Georgina Grenville.
Look n. 91
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 92. Model Ling Tan.
Look n. 92
Gianfranco Ferré Women’s Ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 1997-98, Look n. 93. Model Naomi Campbell.
Look n. 93