
Although he did not get to lead the parade of gentlemen down the runway this time, in his final collection he shared the most uncanny affinity with the motorcycle spirits who often parked in front of his boutique—the love of travel, quest, evolution, discovery and rediscovery. "Traveling is a natural attitude," Ferré said while speaking of this collection. "One encounters open spaces that appear to be infinite…the desire to explore gives way to the pleasures of rediscovered horizons." He used the most unusual juxtapositions of fabrics and colors—water-repellent and weatherized silks, laminated cotton and precious leathers, and the blacks of sand, stone, and lava for iridescent highlights."When I think of Gianfranco Ferré," said fellow legend Giorgio Armani, "the idea that comes immediately to mind is the dignity, the calm, the sense of responsibility that he brought to his work."www.gianfrancoferre.com