Models, including Bella Hadid, presented creations from the Fendi Fall/Winter 2022/2023 collection during Fashion Week in Milan, Italy.
For his Fendi Fall/Winter 2022-2023 Ready-to-Wear collection, Kim Jones took a fresher contemporary perspective for the whole collection. He found inspiration in Delfina Delettrez walking into the Roman headquarters dressed in a printed blouse stolen from her mother’s wardrobe, leading him to dig into the past and give the House’s signatures a new perspective fit for the present. “The best place to explore the FENDI archives is through the Fendi wardrobes,” noted Jones. “And these are collections which, although they come from the past, feel very now.”
Reworking and pairing the geometric prints and sartorial styling of the 1986′ collection with the diaphanous lightness of 2000, Kim Jones explored a combination of strength and softness that led powerful women through their march on the runway. “It’s a wardrobe designed for every aspect of a woman’s life, for every generation,” Jones says. “And it all started with Delfina.”
“It brings me directly to the history of my family. I saw these prints on myself; Kim saw them on Delfina,” explained Silvia Venturini Fendi. “What interests me the most about fashion is when it isn’t something just for the moment – and with FENDI, that is always the case, because it is never banal. There is always a story behind each piece, something a little different.”
The Fendi woman wore delicate slip dresses paired with long cashmere gloves, stock shirts hugging her feminine figures like corsets and cropped jackets carrying masculine touches, all of which defined the new equilibrium that’s at the heart of this collection. Some classic garments were also present, such as a blazer into a tailored gilet; a pocketed belt designed to both cinch the waist and hold a phone. And while the charm of illusion so true to Fendi was cast through curled mohair that looked like shearling and shaved shearling appearing like fur, the O’Lock print paved its way from the menswear world to that of womenswear. “There are no barriers, no divisions at FENDI,” said Silvia. “Because it’s a family.”
Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the accessories celebrated the iconic Baguette’s 25th anniversary through the revival of three of its favourite previous editions – the cashmere, the shearling-lined leather and the intarsia mink supersized monograms and tennis bracelets inset with baguette crystals for an allusion to the FF logo. And in jewellery, Delfina Delettrez unlocked this rich archive, not only with the blouse she wore on that day but also with the newly introduced Master Key motif that adorned pendants and earrings. “It unlocks everything, every door,” smiled Delettrez. “Clearly, the FENDI archive.”
