An extensive monograph surveying the career of the Italian designer known as ''the architect of fashion.'' Gianfranco Ferré (August 15, 1944-June 17, 2007) received a degree in architecture in 1969 at the Politecnico University in Milan. These studies surely contributed to his personal design methodology, one having little in common with traditional systems in use at dress ateliers and clothing factories. This elegant book features a selection of about 250 sketches and technical drawings of Ferré's models starting from the first sketches made in India in 1973 to the last stylized silhouettes dated 2006, and a sizable section of photographs taken during the fashion shows. The book is published in cooperation with the Fondazione Gianfranco Ferré, whose aim is to preserve, organize and present to the public the wealth of clothes, drawings, photographs, texts, film footage, etc. that document the designer's professional activity.