Alberta Ferretti, an inspiring Fashion Designer

Her childhood has a beautiful story: a little girl going with her aunt in her mother’s tailor shop in Cattolica. Seeing the tailoring and the fabrics being draped on the body of customers was magical. This was the first moment where she felt a strong emotion from fashion, in the cinematic Fellini atmosphere of Emilia Romagna. Her talent in being visionary was inherent from the beginning. She left school to follow her vocation for fashion, opening in 1968 – at the age of 18 – the Jolly Shop in Cattolica, selling prêt-à-porter that was emerging at that time.

“The experience of my shop has been my classroom, my teachers have been my clients”.

In the early Eighties, she founded her first showroom at Palazzo Donizetti and debuted at Milan Fashion Week. In 1981 she founded, together with her brother Massimo, the Aeffe Company, collaborating with established designers such as Enrico Coveri, Franco Moschino and Jean-Paul Gualtier. She experienced rapid international expansion, coordinated by the four showrooms in Milan, Paris, London and New York, which led to the opening of numerous flagship boutiques in the most important fashion and luxury shopping capitals, such as Rome, Shanghai, Moscow, Kiev, Jeddah, Doha, Beirut and Monte Carlo.

“I was looking ahead, my luck was to be open minded, the world must speak several languages. By calling various designers, I gave quality to the company, everyone with their own identity. Look around and collaborate to grow!”.

For her design means craftsmanship, clothes all have a soul and an identity and having a good team is fundamental to be able to reach a high level of creativity. She is the interpreter of a desire for beauty, charm and personality. Her creations are inspired by art, cinema, music and society around her. She believes a fashion designer should always be connected to the inspiring world around them. Alberta Ferretti is synonymous with femininity, for her the greatest inspiration is the woman herself. Women are the inspiring muse of Ferretti. She was defined as the queen of the négligé and she is the emblem of femininity.

“The dress must accompany the woman in life, the woman is the protagonist with her femininity. I tell something about myself through what I wear, not closed in a uniform”.

She dresses celebrities and Hollywood stars such as Sandra Bullock, Susan Sarandon, Eva Longoria, Katy Perry, Dua Lipa, Juliette Binoche, Céline Dion, Chiara Ferragni, Regina King, Angela Bassett, Amal Clooney and Jane Fonda.

She loves challenges and she collaborated on the design of different sectors. She added her feminine design to a challenging collaboration in the automotive world. She designed a car for Lancia which changed colour according to the light and the interiors were made like realm garments.

She has received numerous awards and recognitions. In 2019 she was awarded the “Ethical & Sustainable Award” in Monte Carlo at the Montecarlo Fashion Week. This award recognises her commitment and contribution to reminding us of the importance of loving and protecting our planet by playing an active role in encouraging sustainability, promoting a cleaner and better world for generations to come, by producing eco-friendly clothing. She also received The Romantics Award from the International Fashion Group in New York, delivered by Anna Wintour, editor-in-Chief of Vogue.

Her contributions to the promotion of Italian culture is also extremely relevant: she received the title of Cavaliere del Lavoro of the Italian Republic in 1998, in 2000 the Honorary Degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage for the recovery of the Castle of Montegridolfo and the Lifetime Achievement Award in Rome in 2005. In September 2021, at the 78^th Venice International Film Festival, she received the WiCa Award – Women in Cinema Award – in recognition of her undisputed talent and the sensitivity with which she has been able to influence the world of fashion. In May 2022, she was awarded the Guido Carli Prize, for the 13^th edition dedicated to Italian Excellence, for her commitment to promoting the image of Italy in the world.

In 2021 during the celebrations for the 1600th anniversary of the foundation of Venice, in the prestigious setting of Ca ‘Rezzonico, seat of the Venetian Museum of the 18^th Century, she showcased a unique collection in dialogue with craftsmanship and creativity with the historic Rubelli fabric company.

“A dress must work even after 5 years of being created; fashion is a dream that lasts over time. A dress does not have a precise period, a dress has a soul, a story. It enters the wardrobe and stays there for a long time”.