Dame Elizabeth Taylor with Ferre in 2000.
Gianfranco Ferre died Sunday in a Milan hospital at the age of 62 after suffering a brain hemorrhage. It’s a sad day for the fashion world. Born in 1944 in Legnano, Italy, Ferre launched his launched his signature collection for women in 1978 and the couture collection nine years later. His work quickly became associated with structural excess and his name synonymous with eschewing seasonal trends; it was a philosophy that would divide the fashion word in to Ferre Lovers and Haters. Ferre was hand picked by Bernard Arnault to be the Stylistic Director of Christian Dior, a position which he held from 1989 to 1997. He’s a red carpet favourite of Oprah, notoriously cited Mariacarla Boscono as one of his muses, and, like fashion’s other recently-passed darling, Isabella Blow, a noncomformist in the truest sense.
