photograph
courtesy Gianfranco Ferre Foundation
Milan: Palazzo Reale – The White Shirt According to Gianfranco Ferre. In
the spectacular Sala delle Cariatide in Palazzo Reale the exhibition The White
Shirt According To Me Gianfranco Ferre, until April 1, is curated by Daniele
Degl’Innocenti, it is organized and produced by Palazzo Reale and the
Gianfranco Ferre Foundation jointly with the Prato Textile Museum. The
exhibition is devoted to the talents of the late Gianfranco Ferre, one of the
most illustrious names of the international fashion scene of the late twentieth and
twenty-first centuries. Conceived to
showcase, the creative and sartorial poetics of Ferre’s work, the exhibition
uses various art forms to guide the visitor on a discovery of the white shirt,
authentic paradigm of his style, highlighting the most innovative design
elements. A constant presence and major
theme throughout Ferre’s career, the white shirt became, for the designer a
“hallmark of my style” and a “contemporary lexicon of elegance.” The shirt is
an element of continuity, elected as an icon of style, design culture and
creativity of the “architect of fashion” and undisputed
protagonist of Made in Italy. On this garment the designer focuses the aptitude
to transform and innovate the language and aesthetics of fashion.
Above. The main section of the exhibition is dominated by
the shirts as sculptures bathed in light. The idea is to bring out the full
beauty of the shades of white, the interplay of light and shadow, thereby
attaining an evocative plastic effect. Taffeta, crêpe de chine, organza, satin,
tulle, cottons and silks, mechanical embroidery, lace, hand stitching, macro
and micro decors follow one another in a crescendo of pure mastery and
counterpoise.
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre. Aiming to give force to
the different figurative languages inherent to Ferre’s work in examining,
taking apart and rethinking the shirt, the exhibition itinerary at once plays
with and makes the most of various materials, they include; drawings, technical
details, sketches, photographs, advertising and editorial images, videos and
installations. The focus is on twenty-seven shirts - an army of sartorial
masterpieces that exemplify about twenty years of Ferre’s creative (Ready to
Wear collections 1982-2006).
Mario Boselli, president of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana with
his wife Pucci and Rita Airaghi, board member and director of the Gianfranco
Ferre Foundation, “… rendering homage to Gianfranco
Ferre means showing how pure creative genius can find the highest of
expressions through rigorous design. It means rendering homage to a passionate
work culture and to the finest craftsmanship. In addition, it means offering
new generations of designers the opportunity to learn by listening to the voice
of an all-time Italian fashion great. To facilitate the transmission of skills
and values, what better occasion than an exhibition which was conceived so that
everyone can enjoy it?” Rita Airaghi writes.
Consultant of the Gianfranco Ferre Foundation
Giovanni Vidotto
The curator of the Prato Textile Museum and also
curator of exhibition Daniela
Degl’Innocenti is surrounded by her team, Simona Laurini, Azelia Lombardi,
Leonardo Salvini and Adrianna Sarti.
President of the Gianfranco Ferre Foundation,
Alberto Ferre and his wife Charlie with Beppe Pisani president of Serikos.
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Orlando – Fall/Winter - Pret
a Porter - 2001 - silk taffeta, cotton tulle.
Theater director Paolo Castagna and architect Gianni Ravelli who
designed the exhibition at Palazzo Reale with entrepreneur Claudia Buccellati
photographer Giovanni Gastel
Architects and designers, as well as, classmates of Gianfranco Ferre,
Franco Raggi and Daniela Puppa
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Scomposta – Fall/Winter
- Pret a Porter – 1994 – silk taffeta, nylon tulle.
Albertina Marzotto
Barbara Berlingieri architect Piero Pinto and cook and cook book author
Lorenza de’ Medici
Honorary president of the Camera
Nazionale della Moda Italiana Beppe Modenese
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Picaresque – Fall/Winter
– Pret a Porter – 2001 – silk taffeta, cotton tulle, cotton tape, cotton and
stretch satin, leather, cotton tabby.
Marta Brivio Sforza
Interior designers Roberto Peregalli and Laura Sartori Rimini
Gimmo Etro
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Origami – Spring/Summer
– Pret a Porter – 2004 – nylon tulle, silk chiffon.
Journalist Daniela Morera and Fabio Bellotti
Curator of
the Salone Satellite Marva Griffin Wilshire
Noris Morano Orsi and Kartell’s president Claudio Luti
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre - Gianfranco Ferre - drawing - Canone Inverso -
Fall/Winter - 1986 – ink, marker on paper.
Theater set designer Margherita Palli
Daniele Cordero di Montezemolo and his daughter Clotilde
Silvia Gavina
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Sailor Glam –
Spring/Summer – Pret a Porter – 1982 – silk organza, honeycomb patterned cotton
pique.
The White Shirt According to Me, Gianfranco Ferre – Gianfranco Ferre –
drawing - Sailor Glam – Spring/Summer – pencil on paper.