The Designer Steps Away from Her Creative Leadership Role, with a Successor to Be Announced Soon
Alberta Ferretti has announced that she is stepping down as creative director of the brand she founded over four decades ago. Ferretti, 74, shared the news in a heartfelt letter, marking the end of an era for the eponymous label that has been synonymous with her signature romantic, flowing designs.
“On Sept. 17th, you attended my last fashion show,” Ferretti wrote, reflecting on her decision to move on. “Yes, it’s time for me to make room for a new chapter for my brand, a new narrative. It was a difficult, complicated, but very thoughtful choice.”
Ferretti’s final show, held during Milan Fashion Week, was a fitting tribute to her storied career. Set against the backdrop of a grand dome in the courtyard of a former cloister, now a science museum, the show featured her hallmark feminine, summery creations. “They are real summer clothes because the world in the summer is very warm. I know a show is supposed to be a show, but reality is important,” Ferretti said backstage, with no hint that it would be her last appearance as creative director.
Since launching her brand in 1981, Ferretti has remained true to her artisanal roots, crafting elegant silhouettes inspired by her childhood spent in her family’s dressmaking shop. Over the years, her small family business blossomed into an international brand with 1,500 employees. “The Alberta of that day is in many ways still the Alberta of today, even if in the meantime a small family business has become a company with 1,500 employees,” she wrote in her letter.
Ferretti emphasized that while she is stepping away from the day-to-day creative operations, the brand will continue to bear her name, with a successor to be announced soon. “Soon I will announce the name of the person we have chosen to continue writing the history of the Alberta Ferretti brand, who will always find in me support and sustainment,” she assured her colleagues and clients.
Ferretti will maintain her role as vice president of Aeffe, the parent company that owns Alberta Ferretti along with other luxury brands like Moschino and Pollini. Her ongoing involvement will help guide the brand’s future while she pursues her other passions, including art. “Someone will think that now I will dedicate myself to rest… that someone doesn’t know me well enough,” she quipped.
Reflecting on her career, Ferretti expressed gratitude for the journey that took her from her hometown of Cattolica to the world’s biggest fashion stages. “I had the incredible privilege of shaping my dreams, making them come true. And on this journey, to meet and collaborate with legends… without you, my world would never have been the same,” she wrote.