Supermodels bare it all

Photo source: Vogue US September 1994, Vogue US September 1996, Harper’s Bazaar US 2009

The white shirt

Every good designer has a signature item. For Gianfranco Ferre it was the white shirt that he produced in hundreds and hundreds of different designs seeking the naturalness that suited female body. The garments often made of taffeta, organza and silks were light, almost weightless, with the fabric moving around every curve as if caught in the whirl of a gust of wind, accentuating the shoulders and waist, but never taking away the sense of freedom.

An architect in Ferre desired simplicity, precision of cut and origami inspired forms, while Ferre, the aesthete and romantic, looked for inspiration in Renaissance and often used lavish details as decorative touches.

In one of his lectures Ferre said that his “blouses in particular, may retain deliberate traces of opulence, large and emphatic volumes, but are always endowed with a lightness that liberates from any sense of encumbrance and constriction.”

On 25 June 2007, just a week after his death, his last ever men’s wear collection show was closed with children dressed in oversized white shirt as a tribute to the designer who always believed in purity and, as he often put it, rational dreams.

Photo source: Gianfranco Ferre Spring 1994 campaign

I am speechless

Yes, I really am because I can’t imagine how it can be possible to create a campaign that makes you think of another campaign as soon as the first photo appears? Well, of course, those unfamiliar with the original one, shot by Avedon for Versace in 1994, would find the Roberto Cavalli one quite palatable, but… Really??? Frankly, I find it sad.

Photo source: Roberto Cavalli Spring 2012, Versace Fall 1994

Vogue US November 1993

Have been saving this to match the weather and seasonality.

Photo source: Vogue US November 1993