gianfranco ferré
research center
HISTORY
2021 - PRESENT
The Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
The Gianfranco Ferré Research Center, Digital Innovation for the Creative and Cultural Industries was established in December 2021 by Politecnico di Milano following the donation to the University of both the historical archive and the former headquarters of the Gianfranco Ferré Foundation by the Ferré family.
Its approach is rooted in an interdisciplinary vision aimed at advancing the history, culture, and techniques of fashion through innovation, with particular attention to digital and technological transformation.
Drawing on the expertise of multiple Departments, the Center integrates a wide range of disciplinary domains - from fashion design to computer and mathematical engineering, up to manufacturing technologies.
Under the direction of the Department of Design, the Research Center’s activities are supported by the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, and the Department of Mathematics.
The Research Center is also an integral part of the Archival and Library System of Politecnico di Milano.
“This archive holds a wealth of experiences that serves to move forward, to continue inventing, and to constantly improve. It is memory for the future.”
Gianfranco Ferré
2008 - 2021
The Gianfranco Ferré Foundation
The Gianfranco Ferré Foundation operated from 2008 to 2021 with the aim of preserving, organising, and making available to the public - through both physical and virtual archives - all materials documenting the designer’s creative activity. This occurred through the promotion of cultural initiatives aligned with Gianfranco Ferré’s philosophy, his design culture, and his vision of fashion and aesthetics.
Thanks to the Foundation’s commitment, in 2014 this heritage was recognised as being “of particularly important historical interest” and placed under protection by the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and the Archival Superintendency for Lombardy. This acknowledgment represents tangible proof of the uniqueness and value of the materials preserved, as well as of the work carried out by the Foundation to safeguard, organise, and ensure their accessibility and transmission over time.
The donation to Politecnico di Milano in 2021, together with the transformation into a Research Center, placed the archive within a new vision - one not only able to ensure its preservation and accessibility, but capable of expanding its activities in the fields of education and scientific research.
Today, the Center aims to uphold the memory and cultural legacy of Alumnus Gianfranco Ferré, engaging with new scientific and technological paradigms and exploring innovation pathways that contribute to the advancement of fashion culture.
MISSION
The sectors linked to culture and creativity represent distinctive identifying components of Italian and European identity and play a key role in their recognition and positioning at international level.
The opportunities offered by today’s technological transformation open new frontiers for the preservation and enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
At the same time, they require constant updating of knowledge and skills to ensure their effective, responsible, and inclusive use.
In light of ongoing changes and current challenges, the Research Center’s mission is to promote digital innovation for the Creative and Cultural Industries.
Specifically, the Center aims to: preserve and promote the Gianfranco Ferré Historical Archive, including its expansion and the design of new models of accessibility and outreach that highlight the richness of its collections and foster interaction with diverse audiences; explore the potential of digital technologies by developing an “augmented archive”, an immersive environment in which each physical component is enriched with virtual layers offering interactive and intertextual insights; promote digital culture and innovation within the creative and cultural industries, particularly fashion and Made in Italy—through the development of prototypes and solutions transferable to other cultural institutions and creative enterprises, enhancing their attractiveness and competitiveness; promote dissemination, cultural, and educational initiatives that valorise the archival heritage and support the updating of knowledge and competencies related to it, involving experts, researchers, curators, journalists, students, and non-specialist audiences.
HEADQUARTERS
The Gianfranco Ferré Research Center is located within the Tortona 37 complex, designed by Matteo Thun & Partners and built on a former industrial site that is today at the heart of Milan’s design district.
The spatial layout - organised over two levels - and its aesthetic definition incorporate chromatic and material themes dear to Gianfranco Ferré: red, rust, dark materials, and the widespread presence of furnishings and objects collected by the designer over more than thirty years of work and travel. The total surface of 600 square metres is conceived as a multifunctional environment: a workspace and archive for historical documentation, a venue for meetings, lectures, and conferences, and a setting for temporary exhibitions.
“I sought to allude to something Gianfranco Ferré loved: rigour above all, and the act of gathering things, impressions, images, materials, and colours, which he magically translated into his craft. More than fifteen years ago, when he asked me to ‘envision’ the headquarters in Via Pontaccio, we created a working machine rich in surprising atmospheres yet highly functional and of great quality. These fragments of memory now define a linear, geometric, luminous space. He is no longer here, but his objects and the documents of his work remain - collected and arranged in this place of study and ideas - which tell us a story that is still extraordinarily beautiful”.
Franco Raggi
WHO WE ARE
