February 26, 2025 |
Change was in the air at Alberta Ferretti. Last October, Ferretti handed Lorenzo Serafini creative control of the label she founded in 1981. Then last night, Aeffe Group’s (which owns the label) president and co-founder, Ferretti sat front row to see her successor’s first contribution to her legacy.
Serafini’s debut as creative director was never going to be about reinvention but refinement – an evolution of Ferretti’s signature romance, viewed through his modern lens. And last night in Milan, he delivered just that with a collection he called Progressive Romantics.
The show opened with a breeze of sheer chiffon, organza and cotton poplin, crafted into fluid dresses that felt impossibly light, as if floating through the historic Palazzo Donizetti, Aeffe’s showroom since 1994 and where the show took place. These were soon shrouded by clean, sculptural outerwear: uncollared double cashmere coats, oversized shearling jackets and billowing capes, all cut with precision but worn with ease.
It was all about contrast. Sharp tailoring softened by raw edges. Bare shoulders framed by dramatic draping. The palette began in Ferretti’s classic neutrals but soon deepened into burnt orange, sage green and violet. Handmade resin jewellery – crafted by a female Cypriot artist – added an artisanal and sometimes floral flourish, like delicate relics from another time.
Serafini’s Alberta Ferretti was not about nostalgia but movement, a woman who embodied romance without being weighed down by it. It was soft power, effortless sensuality, a new kind of dreaminess – one that was not just to be admired but worn. And if this was just the beginning, it promised something special ahead.
Photography courtesy of Alberta Ferretti.
