Alberta Ferretti has stepped down as creative director of her eponymous brand.
Alberta Ferretti is stepping down
The fashion designer - whose last show was on September 17 in Milan - launched her brand in 1981, and she admitted the decision was "a difficult, complicated, but a very thoughtful" one.
In an open letter, she wrote: "It's time for me to make room for a new chapter for my brand, a new narrative."
She insisted the decision was made with "serenity and awareness", while the brand will keep her name.
She continued: "Soon I will announce the name of the person we have chosen to continue writing the history of the Alberta Ferretti brand, who will always find in me support and sustainment.”
Alberta - who will stay as vice president of parent company Aeffe - vowed to keep busy with her "great passions", and rubbished the idea of a quiet life.
She said: "Someone will think that now I will dedicate myself to rest… that someone doesn’t know me well enough.”
Although what began as a "small family business" has become a global fashion juggernaut, Alberta said her brand has retained its ethos.
She recalled: "[It began] when a young woman with many dreams and passions brought her collection to the catwalk for the first time. I remember those moments as if they were yesterday.
"The Alberta of that day is in many ways still the Alberta of today, even if in the meantime a small family business has become a company with 1,500 employees."
In her letter, she took the chance to thank those who "helped her grow", singling out the likes of Peter Lindbergh, Steve Meisel, Franca Sozzani and Paolo Roversi.
She continued: "How many things I have learned, how much energy I have invested in this job and how many achievements I have been lucky enough to reach.
"From Cattolica to China, from Hollywood to Japan…fantastic places on a journey that seemed unimaginable, but which came true.
“On this very special day, thanks must go to my brother Massimo, a constant presence in my professional and personal life, and to all those who have contributed to making in recent years the Alberta Ferretti brand great in the world.”