Alberta Ferretti. Spring 2021 RTW - Milan

                     (Images: Gorunway.com.  All credit)

As New York and London fashion weeks played it safe and showed an innovation from designers and their adjustment to a pandemic world, the Milan shows are following suit except for a stubborn few designers who are returning to the traditional runway, all the while Europe is getting slam dunked again by the virus. There was a report by the Guardian newspaper, of an organizer for Milan Fashion Week, who wished to stay anonymous, saying that it has been a nightmare in organizing the limited crowd shows.  To the extent of how safety measures have been calibrated in an all encompassing way would be anyones guess, until an instant COVID-19 test in readily available (the airlines are working on it) the risks of infection are still very real.  Since Italy was an epicenter for the virus early in the year, particularly Lombardy, at the time when the Milan fashion shows were still flying high. Responsibility is the key for the fashion industry, as is the hard work of creating something new in face of an unprecedented change to the industry.  Alberta Ferretti unfortunately has not shown the same interest in her betterment. 

Throwing down 51 pieces into a crowded runway setting for the models, squeezed under the 15th century Cortile Della Rocchetta arches, yes, the crowd maybe sparse, but what is nearing the full capacity is the styles on show, seen (pre-Covid outbreak) at Milan's Fall 2020 shows.  Collections could be creeping back up into the 60 to 100 ranges, in an urge to return to the old normal, which holds only a faded resonance.  

Yet, Ferretti, as the skilled designer that she is, has pieced together a collection which by all retrospect, appears rushed and frenetic.  It certainly has come up short, as a patchwork of pastel inspired styles, infused with jump suits and mini skirts – it's hard to find a distinction in her latest collection that made Ferretti an iconic designer.  Yet, the show must go on and some of the chiffon and silk inspired lingerie looks, a trend from 2019, offer moments of interest.  Ferretti latest styles overall are too vast, with images of attendees pulling down masks and taking photos, the whole presentation seems overblown while diluting itself amidst the so called 2nd wave pandemic, which is about to hit Europe.