"The white shirt according to me. Gianfranco Ferré"

03/10/2015

"In the contemporary lexicon of elegance, I like to think that my white shirt is a term in universal usage. But which everyone pronounces as they wish…,” wrote Gianfranco Ferré referring to his icon garment, now being celebrated at an important exhibition in Milan.

The Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is the sponsor of “La camicia bianca secondo me. Gianfranco Ferré” (The white shirt according to me. Gianfranco Ferré), an exhibition organized and produced by Palazzo Reale and Fondazione Gianfranco Ferré and open to the public from 10 March to 1 April 2015 in Palazzo Reale’s impressive “Sala delle Cariatidi”.

Passing amidst canvasses of tulle bearing images of drawings[A1] autographed by Ferré, visitors reach the room containing the core of the exhibition: 27 white shirts. A selection that traces 24 years in the history of Italian fashion, from 1982 to 2006, highlighting elements of design and innovation in what was an icon garment for one of the fathers of Italian prêt-à-porter. The lighting on each mannequin points up construction and volumes, the various precious materials, lacework and embroidery, stitching, micro and macro elements, all the details defining the infinity of interpretation afforded by a Gianfranco Ferré white shirt. Along the sides of this splendid installation are display cases with interesting materials from the Foundation’s archive, while dreamlike photographic projections travel across the ceiling.

“I’m glad that together with Fondazione Gianfranco Ferré and the Municipality of Milan we can share with the city this important heritage left to us by one of the fathers of Italian fashion,” commented Jane Reeve, CEO, Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, on the opening of the exhibition.