Illustration of the week #4

[alden]

We discussed a NY clothes designer’s girth and poor presentation on television recently and it made me think of a designer I had the chance to see often in Paris. Like Mr Flusser, Gianfranco Ferre was a clothes designer of imposing size who plied his trade for 30 years between Paris and Milan. The photos of Ferre are useful in illustrating a number of points about dress and lay to waste some commonly held misconceptions.



Size does not matter. Ferre was a very large man who dressed with panache. It is often said a large man should not wear light colors. And it is also rumored they should not wear draped clothes. Ferre does both in the pictures above.

As a matter of fact, Ferre, who wore very natural, soft tailored clothes, was used to breaking every sartorial rule to start his day and wound up looking magnificent doing so. He almost always wore 3 pc suits and often wore them all buttoned up. He also wore 3 pc tweed suits in large patterns that blinded. Oh yes I know, large men must not wear patterns. Poppycock! (Unfortunately I could not find any pictures of his tweeds.)

Enjoy these images of a truly impressive and creative man taking joy in his dress:



It is said that a large man should prefer the 2 button style to the 3. Oh, and one should never button all the buttons, right? Is that right? Pens in a patch pocket?



Gianfranco, we miss seeing you



Cheers

M Alden

[shredder]

Very true. I met Ferre on two occasions, and everything you say is true. Perhaps another way to interpret his style is that it is clearly a case of the man wearing the clothes rather than the other way around. I also think that he is an excellent example in support of the view that rules are for those who cannot think for themselves while for the remaining lot they are mere guidelines.

Actually, you might even say that he used his generous dimensions to his advantage.

[alden]

Actually, you might even say that he used his generous dimensions to his advantage.

You know it just occurred to me that there was a real logic to his wearing 3 pc suits as a large man. The waistcoat hides the paunch and insures a continuity of line. I learn something new everyday.

Cheers

M Alden

[Jordan Marc]

Think of how well-tailored Sydney Greenstreet and Jackie Gleason were on the big and small screens, respectively. Ferre, like the other jumbos, is a testament to what a skilled tailor can do with a lot of cloth.

JMB

[shredder]

Also calls to mind Edward VII and his DB jackets, which actually had a slimming effect on him. I think it begs the question whether the dictum about DB jackets being inappropriate for rotund men came about as a result of extinction or shortage of those tailors and cutters who can properly execute a DB jacket for rotund men. Just thinking out loud here...

[angelo]

Alden wrote:

You know it just occurred to me that there was a real logic to his wearing 3 pc suits as a large man. The waistcoat hides the paunch and insures a continuity of line. I learn something new everyday.

Michael ,
I think that You have completely got the point .Indeed , hiding the paunch is the first and most important thing to start from for a rotund man in order to give a pleasant and elegant look to his person . In this regard waistcoats appear essential.

Angelo

[mmkn2]

Mr. Ferre's architectural training projected into his fashion designs made his conceptions of men's clothes solidly masculine and timeless for me. It was almost as if his mind was not under the influence of fashion's seasonal cycles and whims.

Had he lived longer, I would have liked to see him do what Tom Ford is doing with men's clothing.

- M

[NicolausN]

Actually, you might even say that he used his generous dimensions to his advantage.

You know it just occurred to me that there was a real logic to his wearing 3 pc suits as a large man. The waistcoat hides the paunch and insures a continuity of line. I learn something new everyday.

Cheers

M Alden

I just realized this the other day as well. I've been watching the John Adams mini-series staring Paul Giamatti as John Adams. When dressed in his 18th century waistcoat, his paunch (both Paul's modern day one and I assume John's historical one) looks almost nonexistent. He's simply a large man.

[uppercase]

I wonder what gentlemen think of Valentino Garavani: is he too slick, or the best dressed man in Italian fashion? Now 76 years old!

[mmkn2]

I wonder what gentlemen think of Valentino Garavani: is he too slick, or the best dressed man in Italian fashion? Now 76 years old!

As solidly masculine Mr. Ferre is in his ideations, Mr. Garavani is the same but on the feminine side - thus making his women's designs (more than his men's or his own clothing) the most attractive to me. The one designer who balances both sides well is Mr. Armani.

- M

[Cordovan]

I cannot tell. I find that baking in an oven look too distracting to really see anything else. So I guess in at least one respect he has succeeded; I am drawn to his face and not any other part of his dress.

Cordovan

[soupcon]

Valentino is a paradox.

He wears beautiful Caraceni suits, yet they are tweaked to an extreme.They are tight, and the pants always too long with too much break;then he wears jarring accessory combinations that say he's trying too hard to appear elegant,when to my eye, he's drifting into camp territory.I notice his personal vanity more than his style.

Contrast him with Agnelli.Same tailor, but GA was even more affected in his stylistic eccentricities, and yet he appears the more natural of the two.

[Jordan Marc]

Soupcon:

Designers as a group are meticulous about their attire. There isn't a detail that goes unnoticed. Valentino Garavini is the last haute couture designer of his generation, and perhaps its greatest. To accompany my sister and watch one of his fashion shows was an extraordinary experience. As model after model moved gracefully down the runway, I was struck by the beauty and elegance of his designs. This is how women should dress! I thought. My sister wanted every piece in the collection. I wanted to meet every model after the show. And at the end Valentino stepped out on stage. He was perfectly tailored and had a look on his face that went from pride to chagrin to surprise and back again. He was surrounded by a bevy of his girls, all smiling and applauding, then giving him a push down the runway while the crowd rose to its feet as one and cheered.

JMB

[alden]

Valentino Garavini is the last haute couture designer of his generation

I would have to cast my vote for Yves St. Laurent as the greatest of his generation with Valentino a close second.

As far as dress was concerned, I had the occasion to see Saint Laurent very often. The image above is pretty characteristic of his style: gray suit (usually with 3 button front), blue shirt, understated neck tie, and often some bit of fantasie in the way of his coat, scarf or silks.

Cheers

Michael Alden

[koolhistorian]

Going to the comparison with GFF, Valentino looks like an aging playboy vs an elderly and dignified gentleman. For me that is saying a lot on his taste and aesthetic sense - you cannot, IMHO, have an orange tone of skin and a totally artificial hair color and pretend to be the keeper of aesthetical secrets of your body. 90% of women's fashion and 99% of men's fashion will look horrible on an average person, and if I look at Valentino or the rest of the bunch, I can see why!
GFF goes in the same league with l'Avvocato, Sean Connery, Phillipe Noiret - people which assumed their age, never tried to go against their physiology and wear it with grace and dignity.
My 2 cents!