Ferré Gianfranco

As the firstborn of a family where solid industrial pragmatism mingled with State Monopolies — his father forged machine tools, while his mother had forsaken tobacco and salt to devote herself to the comforting virtues of the domestic hearth — Gianfranco Ferré seemed destined for a delightfully bourgeois and provincial existence. However, it was evident that the young man harboured different aspirations when, at barely seventeen years of age, he decided to outshine the Sunday painters by winning a competition organised by the "Famiglia Legnanese". A triumph of provincial nature, indeed, but nonetheless a portent.

The true turning point arrived in 1969, with a degree in Architecture from the Politecnico di Milano. Yet, rather than designing blocks of flats in the fog of Lombardy, he wisely chose to apply the rigour of geometry to human vanity. The 1970s saw him debut in the world of fashion almost quietly, crafting costume jewellery and accessories, before honing his craft under the tutelage of Walter Albini and Christiane Baily. As per the best bohemian-chic script, the inevitable Asian epiphany followed: a prolonged sabbatical in India, which culminated in the "Ketch" collection and the insight — ultimately proving to be rather profitable — of women's prêt-à-porter.

In 1978, the inevitable came to pass: the establishment of Gianfranco Ferré Spa. From that moment, his ascent took on the contours of an epic, culminating in 1989 with the call to arms (and cashmere) in Paris, where he was bestowed with the sacred keys to artistic direction of none other than Christian Dior. Meanwhile, back home, "the Architect of Fashion" had transformed into an all-consuming demiurge: the launch of the men's wardrobe, incursions into Haute Couture, an expansive cosmology of perfumes, and even a charming tribute to the most opulent silhouettes, elegantly hidden under the euphemistic label "FORMA O BY GFF".

Then, as with every designer who survived the excesses of the 1980s and 1990s, Ferré succumbed to the fever of logo proliferation. Signing gargantuan agreements with Italiana Manifatture of San Benedetto del Tronto, he decided to brand practically anyone and everything. Thus were born Jeans, the Junior line, and, stretching the bounds of commercial audacity, the forgotten lines "Fans" and "Rhinosaurex" (yes, you read that correctly, Rhinosaurex). A state of joyous and chaotic ubiquity was thus achieved, sealed with the inevitable co-branding Oaks by Ferré.

The dawn of the new millennium, following yet another foray into children's clothing, brought with it a significant financial capitulation: between 2000 and 2002, 90% of his Milanese creation was relinquished to IT Holding of Tonino Perna. A Molisian giant that, with a certain cruel irony of corporate fate, would later implode spectacularly, ending up under administration.

The trajectory of the Maestro concluded abruptly in June 2007. Stricken by a cerebral haemorrhage, Ferré passed away two days later at San Raffaele in Milan. Following his funeral at the Basilica of San Magno, the architect who had redrawn the elegance of Avenue Montaigne returned, at last, to his Legnano, where he now rests in the family tomb, immensely distant from the Parisian clamor but loyal, until the end, to his unyielding Lombard roots.