• January 26, 1998
• Vol. 49
• No. 3

Italian Dressing

By Peter Castro

Designer Alberta Ferretti Brings a Dash of Sensuality to Couture

FROM A ROOM IN HER MEDIEVAL CASTLE, WHICH DOMINATES the tiny town of Montegridolfo, Italy, Alberta Ferretti can see 20 miles to the Adriatic Sea, where she grew up in the coastal village of Cattolica. "The passion for my work was handed down to me," says Ferretti, 47, whose early years were spent apprenticing in her mother's dressmaking shop. "At 12,1 was cutting pieces of material. My mother told me, 'Do what you want.' She gave me the opportunity to create."

Thirty-five years later, Ferretti is still on fashion's cutting edge. Her line—known for its clever hybrid of modern and classic designs that enhance the female form—is worn by Hollywood head turners including Julia Roberts, Uma Thurman and Nicole Kidman. "I don't like an extremely sexy look," says Ferretti, whose designs, ranging from $450 daytime dresses to $10,000 evening gowns, are sold in top-tier U.S. stores such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. "I like sensual clothes that let you catch a glimpse of the woman and leave a bit to a man's imagination." So does actress Andie MacDowell. "Alberta's clothes are feminine, soft and romantic," she says, "but at the same time chic and elegant."

That formula has spawned a $140-million-a-year empire (Ferretti's company, Aeffe S.p.A., chaired by her younger brother, Massimo, also manufactures the designs of Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino, Rifat Ozbek and Narciso Rodriguez). In addition to the 23-room castle—which Ferretti converted into a four-star hotel, Palazzo Viviani, that opened in 1994—the designer owns a villa in Cattolica and another in nearby'San Giovanni in Marignano. She shares her homes with her two sons from an early marriage—Simone, 29, an Aeffe computer programmer, and Giacomo, 25, who raises mussels—and her companion, Giuseppe Campanella, 58, an anesthesiologist and acupuncturist. When the couple were introduced by a mutual friend in the mid-'70s, Ferretti didn't bite. But when she visited his office for a minor medical problem 10 years later, something clicked. They have lived together for 12 years. "Maybe she found me better-looking the second time," Campanella jokes.

When it comes to fashion, Ferretti has always been decisive. She dropped out of high school at age 18 to open a boutique in Cattolica, where she sold her own creations as well as other lines. A clothing representative recognized her talent and began marketing her work. Ferretti has never looked back—or, she says, ceased driving herself. "I don't stop at anything," she says. "I start with the idea that nothing is impossible and everything can be done in the end."

PETER CASTRO
SARAH DELANEY in Montegridolfo

• Contributors:
• Sarah Delaney.