Gianfranco Ferré’s years at Dior celebrated in a beautiful new book

Nicknamed the “fashion architect” for the strength of his structures and the exaggeration of volumes he conferred upon his creations, Italian designer Gianfranco Ferré was the fourth designer to head up Dior between 1989 and 1996. He started at the house of Dior five years after the brand had entered Bernard Arnault’s stable. Gianfranco Ferré had some prestigious shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Christian Dior himself (1947-1957), Yves Saint Laurent (1958-1960) and Marc Bohan (1961-1989). Through a series of new books dedicated to each of its designers, Dior is looking back at this brilliant saga, deepening each of these periods marked by such different artistic impetus each time. For its fourth volume, Dior celebrates the incredible creations of Gianfranco Ferré, who modestly liked to call himself the ‘dressmaker’ of the house.

Written by fashion journalist Alexander Fury (Financial Times, Another Magazine) and illustrated with the splendid photos of Laziz Hamani, this book reveals the most minute creative details as well as the splendour of the dresses and ornaments imagined by Gianfranco Ferré. From the short Venice dress, embroidered with beads and rhinestones, made for haute couture fall-winter 1991 to the sumptuous Elixir dress in pleated fuchsia tulle for haute couture fall-winter 1996, it’s nothing short of breath taking.

In total, some 15 collections resume the impression made at the house of Dior during the Gianfranco Ferré era. The artistic director, for whom, “couture is the most most perfect personal expression of a designer’s creativity” introduced a breath of fresh air and romanticism, imagining silhouettes all in curves, flowers swathing the necklines and he even created the now legendary Lady Dior handbag, the ultimate symbol of elegance which since then has never stopped being reinvented.

Dior by Gianfranco Ferré will be available at Assouline publications from December 15th in Europe and January 15th in the USA.