Fashion career profile
Gianfranco Ferré
Gianfranco Ferré was an Italian fashion designer and trained architect, born in Legnano in 1944 and educated at the Politecnico di Milano. After early work in jewelry, accessories and textile production in India, he founded Gianfranco Ferré s.r.l. with Franco Mattioli in 1978. His precise construction, generous volumes and repeated study of the white shirt earned him the description “architect of fashion.” Ferré also served as Christian Dior's creative director for haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur from 1989 to 1996. He died in Milan in 2007.
- Role
- Founder and Creative Director, Gianfranco Ferré
- Nationality
- Italian
- Age at death
- 62
- Career appointments
- 2
- Fashion houses
- 2
- Desire Holding partners with Sirpea to distribute five fragrance brands in ItalyFashionNetwork · 2026-10-15
- Education: Architecture, 1969Politecnico di Milano. · Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
- Own house: Gianfranco FerréFounder and creative director from 1978 to 2007. · Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
- Dior tenure: 1989–1996Creative director of couture, ready-to-wear and fur. · Gianfranco Ferré Research Center
- Signature: The white shirtA recurring study in volume, cut and material. · Gianfranco Ferré
- 1989–1996 — Artistic Director — DiorHistorical appointment · Dior
- 1978–2007 — Founder and Creative Director — Gianfranco FerréHistorical appointment · Gianfranco Ferré Research Center