SOCIAL CLIMBER: Suits Norisol Ferrari just fine
Tailored classic. Photos by Elton Lugay
By Elton Lugay
My next stop at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week was this Venezuelan-born designer noted for her fine handcrafted leathers and furs.
For Norisol Ferrari, fur is akin to “second skin.” It must flawlessly fit the wearer and complement her personality and style.
For Ferrari’s February 14 preview, 19 display mannequins were presented, thus allowing journalists and buyers to take a closer look at the finely crafted clothing. Not that I was eavesdropping, but I must have heard the term “bespoke tailoring” whispered by some who were eyeing the pieces as if they were exhibit in a museum.
“For Fall ‘12, I am exploring the seductive power of glamour and using it as a coat of armor,” the amiable Norisol told The FilAm. This, while Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” was playing in the background. “My collection is about celebrating women and the strength in their femininity.”
Although born in Venezuela, Ferrari grew up in New York in the 1980s amidst drag queens and nightclub impresarios. Her website says she learned fashion design by “osmosis.” One could tell by the collection which showcased a lot of tailored jackets, rocker chick coats using exotic alligator and snake skin leather and softened by mink or cashmere. She launched her own collection in 2009 which became known for its “visionary modernism.”
Norisol told me she gets her leather from Italy, and her fur from Denmark.
“It’s very important to me that I use the best and most sustainable mills and tanneries, that they act responsibly in how they deal with the materials,” she said.
Top: Haberdashery elegance, biker babe look. The author with Norisol Ferrari.
STYLIST is Freddie Leiba
HEADPIECES by House of Malakai
HARNESSES by Zana Bayne for Norisol Ferrari
This is the fourth in a series of New York Fashion Week coverage by The FilAm reporter Elton Lugay.
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