Italian Fashion Designers

Alberta Ferretti -attracts hordes of Hollywood stars to her gentle colors and subtle sexiness. Born in Cattolica, Italy. In 1974 she launched her own label, and designs for many fashion designers, among them Jean-Paul Gaultier, Rifat Ozbek, Narciso Rodriguez and Moschino. The Ferretti style is not one of old-fashioned prettiness. Her vision is a delicate one, developing an appreciation for textiles, daintily beaded or embroidered chiffons and sari silks. Her Fall/Winter 2006 collection [showed that]she's come a long way from girly chiffon and folksy boho. From the very first look, a chain-belted sixties fur coat with rounded shoulders, it was apparent Alberta Ferretti would be making interesting strides into a new kind of sophistication....the flat, calf-high boots, the stiff, rounded capes and pod-shape skirts—weren't vintage rehash. She made a hybrid out of fall's heavier black, navy, brown, and gray wools and jerseys and her usual light, romantic pintucks and ruffles, often pulling looks together with the great unifying device of a wide metal-link belt, woven onto suede. -Sarah Mower

Anna Molinari- was born in the 50’s Capri, Italy. She and her husband Gianpaolo Tarabini established her label Anna Molinari in 1977. Blugirl is a ready-to-wear line for girls and young woman, infused with a touch of irony and joie de vivre with a clearly romantic vein. The collection expresses an ideal femininity that perfectly reflects the spirit of the Blumarine collection, readapted with great creativity and imagination. Anna Molinari's Blugirl is a perfect embodiment of a certain Italian woman’s attitude toward fashion: Let the rest of the world worry about sobriety, not her. What's the point in clothes if they don't make her feel decorative? Dresses and elaborate knitwear are ever the core of Molinari's commercial success, so she took the coat-and-minidress combo that is one of the looks of the season, but tweaked it to show off all the pieces that make her customers happy. A sliver of gold dévoré velvet with a fox-trimmed coat thrown over it started a show of slinky jersey and body-hugging mini sweater dresses. She thought up things to do with her line of embellished cardigans, too, trimming a turquoise one in fur and embroidery, and making another in multiple cream crochet ruffles.