Italian designer Alberta Ferretti announced on Tuesday that she is stepping down as the creative director of the eponymous brand she founded over four decades ago. “On Sept. 17th, you attended my last fashion show,” Ferretti revealed in a heartfelt letter sent out via email.
“Yes, it’s time for me to make room for a new chapter for my brand, a new narrative. It was a difficult, complicated, but a very thoughtful choice,” she added. The 74-year-old designer assured that the brand would continue to bear her name, and mentioned that a successor will be named soon.
Fashion group Aeffe, which owns the Alberta Ferretti brand along with Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, Moschino, and Pollini, stated that Ferretti would maintain her role as vice president of the group. Ferretti’s final showcase was held during Milan’s fashion week, where she presented her summery creations in the courtyard of a former cloister, now a science museum. The elegant show featured a dome rising in the background, emphasizing the artisanal heritage in her collection.
“They are real summer clothes, because the world in the summer is very warm. I know a show is supposed to be a show but reality is important,” she mentioned backstage, giving no hint about her impending departure. Growing up in her family’s dressmaking shop before opening her own boutique as a teenager, Ferretti has remained faithful to her signature gentle feminine silhouettes since launching the brand in 1981.
“The Alberta.
