Alberta Ferretti (; ) is an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

fashion designer and

dressmaker A dressmaker, also known as a seamstress, is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Dressmakers were historically known as mantua-makers, and are also known as a modiste or fabrician. Notab ...

. She designs for her namesake brand Alberta Ferretti, and designed for Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti until 2014. Her showroom is in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy but her studio is in her native village of

Cattolica Cattolica (; rgn, Catòlga) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Rimini, Italy, with 16,233 inhabitants as of 2007. History Archaeological excavations show that the area was already settled in Roman times. Cattolica rose as a resting pl ...

, near

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

, Italy. She was among a group of Italian designers who were invited to a reception for 200 designers and retailers held by Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

at 10 Downing Street, in October 1988.

Early life

In 1968, Alberta Ferretti opened her first boutique, called ''Jolly'', in

. She designed a first collection in 1973 and co-founded (a publicly traded clothing manufacturer and distributor) in 1976. She began showing seasonal collections on the runways of Milan in 1981. She launched Ferretti Jeans Philosophy in 1989, renamed Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti in 1994. In 1994 she renovated a 13th-century castle into the Palazzo Viviani hotel in Montegridolfo. In October 1993 Ferretti presented clothes reminiscent of

The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby ...

for the Milan ready-to-wear shows. One of her designs was a long and trim

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically with striped, check or plaid duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarns. It is made of carded, medium or ...

dress, in pale blue. A

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered accepta ...

showed a beige crocheted dress styled just above the knee. Her renditions of the

toga The toga (, ), a distinctive garment of ancient Rome, was a roughly semicircular cloth, between in length, draped over the shoulders and around the body. It was usually woven from white wool, and was worn over a tunic. In Roman historical tra ...

for the production were diverse. They were simple gowns, some of them short, others long and draped. Ferretti extended her the breadth of her company outside of Italy beginning with the acquisition of a building at 30 West 56th Street in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She started Aeffe U.S.A., which produced and distributed clothing by Moschino,

Rifat Ozbek Rifat Ozbek ( tr, Rıfat Özbek, ; born 1953) is a Turkish-born fashion designer, known for his exotic, ethnically-inspired outfits. He was named British Designer of the Year in 1988 and 1992. Biography Ozbek was born in Istanbul, Turkey and gr ...

Jean Paul Gaultier Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corset ...

, and Narcisco Rodriguez. Aeffe is owned by Ferretti and her brother, Massimo. The locale also became the hub for marketing her own collections. By 1998 she opened in-store boutiques for selling her signature and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti lines at

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is a luxury department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son, Andrew Goodman. ...

. Next she obtained her initial American freestanding store in

SoHo Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

. This business, near Prince Street, is exclusively for her Philosophy collection. It is a lower priced edition of Ferretti's signature line, intended for younger women. In contrast to most designers, she started boutiques for her secondary lines prior to opening a flagship store for her signature collection. Ferretti's

West Broadway West Broadway is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, separated into two parts by Tribeca Park. The northern part begins at Tribeca Park, near the intersection of Avenue of the Americas (Sixth Avenue), Walker Street a ...

building is located next door to a Rizzoli bookstore. It is a

Federal style architecture Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General * Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies * Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states ...

townhouse built in the late 19th century. It was renovated with a three-story glass front and skylights, so that the interior was filled with natural light. The store was designed by Manhattan architect

David Ling David Gregory Ling (born January 9, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. Ling was selected by the Quebec Nordiques in the 7th round (179th overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Playing career Junior Ling played with th ...

. It is a pristinely white shop. Ferretti signed a licensing deal with

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...

for a fragrance line in 2000.

Fashion career

Ferretti is known for her designs featuring ''twisting, tucking, and draping techniques.'' Her style employs a subtle layered look, sometimes showing a hint of hand-beaded gauze which extends slightly beneath the hem of a wool dress.''Architectural Philosophy'', ''The New York Times'', August 30, 1998, pg. ST3. The erotic qualities of the chiffon and

jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

fashions she introduced for her spring 2008 fashion collection is evident in the look of her dresses. Many of them are cut high in the front and draped low in the back. Her target customer is the ''cocktail crowd''. Specifically the dresses are party frocks, above the knee, and enhanced by

rhinestone A rhinestone, paste or diamante is a diamond simulant originally made from rock crystal but since the 19th century from crystal glass or polymers such as acrylic. Original Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river ...

rosettes and armour-like chain mail. Feretti's collection includes

pleated A pleat (plait in older English) is a type of fold formed by doubling fabric back upon itself and securing it in place. It is commonly used in clothing and upholstery to gather a wide piece of fabric to a narrower circumference. Pleats are cat ...

bubbled coats, toga-like minidresses and skirts, and a sparse number of gowns of soft mint green and white hues. The minidresses and skirts were shown with

ethereal Ethereal may refer to: * Ethereal (horse), a horse that won Australia's Caulfield Cup as well as Melbourne Cup in 2001 *Ethereal wave, or simply ethereal, a subgenre of dark wave music *Wireshark, formerly named Ethereal, a free and open-source pac ...

models wearing ''metallic gladiator flats''.''Buttoned-Up or Bombshell'',

Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...

, Friday, September 28, 2007, pg. 8. In July 2011 her collection was presented at the catwalk of

The Brandery The Brandery was an urban fashion show, organized from 2009 to 2012 by Fira de Barcelona and held twice a year, in summer and winter.La Vanguardia, 22/06/2010The Brandery cumple un año con nota y un futuro prometedor a pesar de la crisis The first ...

fashion show in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

.The Brandery, Catwalk
TV Fashion Runway Show
She received the ''America Award'' of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2018.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferretti, Alberta Fashion designers from Milan Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers Living people 1950 births People from the Province of Rimini