MILAN, Italy - Gianfranco Ferre, the Italian designer known as the "architect
of fashion" for his structured, sculpted shapes and for his groundbreaking
tenure at Christian Dior, died Sunday, a hospital said. He was 62.
Italian designer Gianfranco Ferre', right, stands near a
model wearing a gown from his collection created for the charity event
'Life Ball 2004', while he waves during the opening ceremony at Vienna's
city hall in this May 15, 2004 file photo. [AP]
|
Ferre was taken to the San
Raffaele hospital in Milan on Friday after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage.
The hospital, in a statement authorized by Ferre's family, said he died Sunday
night.
Condolences from Italy's top designers poured in as word of his death spread
- just days before the menswear spring-summer 2008 collections were to get under
way in Milan later this week.
Giorgio Armani, perhaps the king of the "Made in Italy" world to which Ferre
also belonged, said he had long admired Ferre's artistic and intellectual work.
"When I think of Gianfranco Ferre, the idea that comes immediately to mind is
the dignity, the calm, the sense of responsibility that he brought to his work,"
Armani said, according to the ANSA news agency.
Ferre started his career as an accessories and jewelry designer, and then
moved on to clothes. His unofficial title as Italy's architect of fashion came
thanks to the degree in architecture he obtained in 1969 from Milan's
Polytechnic Institute that inspired his designs.
He started his own company in the mid-1970s, but his major leap came in 1989,
when he was tapped by Bernard Arnault to be the top designer for Christian Dior.
At the time, it was almost unheard of for a non-French designer to take the
reins of the venerable Parisian house.
Ferre stayed on at Dior until the fall of 1996, when he returned to Milan to
tend to his own men's and women's collections.
Ferre's style was based on simple and structured lines, and the white blouse
became one of his trademarks. His suits were used by businesswomen around the
world looking for a sophisticated look.
For the evening, Ferre often made important dresses with ample skirts
supported by layers of crinoline.
Ferre himself cut a unique figure, a big teddy bear of a man dressed
impeccably in three-piece suits. Donatella Versace called Ferre a man "from
another time" who helped change Italian fashion.
"He was a great couturier who knew how to create an absolute chic with
details that I will never get tired of looking at and that will remain in the
history of fashion," ANSA quoted Versace as saying.
Ferre represented "the highest level of style, of artisanship, of
creativity," said Roberto Cavalli. "A true artist, pure, a beautiful person who
will be missed by the whole fashion world."
In 2002, Ferre sold Gianfranco Ferre to It Holding, but he stayed on as
creative director. His spring-summer 2008 menswear collection is scheduled to be
presented Sunday in Milan.
Born Aug. 15, 1944 in Legnano, in northern Italy, Ferre worked and lived in
India for several years. His passion for travel and world cultures was often
reflected in his collections.
He is survived by a brother and sister-in-law, as well as a cousin, Rita
Airaghi, who served as his longtime assistant.
There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements.