Mon, February 24 2020 » Fashion Blog
FENDI FALL WINTER 2020 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
It is behind beauty that sometimes profound truths are hidden. Through the FENDI Women’s Autumn / Winter 2020-2021 Collection, creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi delves into the duplicity of the FENDI woman, describing the idiosyncrasies of her powerful femininity. Thus the subversive concept of “soft power” emerges, from the boudoir to the boardroom, expression of a world full of emotions and rituals.
The chromatic and textured contrasts combine shades of gray and warm neutral shades with touches of pastel colors and bright FENDI yellow. Structure and softness reign supreme, bringing to the fore a forbidden balance between severe austerity and sensual abandonment.
Through unusual contrasts and elegant monochromes, an intoxicating mix of cashmere, fur, leather and lace becomes the backbone of this season’s FENDI wardrobe. Tailoring and outerwear are built around a narrow waist; flared military coats, shiny jackets and precious blazers are structured through the bodice, with shoulders that glide to the flat tip or fall into Giulietta sleeves.
The voluptuous forms open in cozy high-necked sweaters, pleated skirts in leather and organza blouses with bib, in contrast with the rigorous lines of the nurse’s collar, the stripes of the male shirt or the details of the quilted satin and felt corset.
Revisiting the animal designs, the leopard-stained paisley peeks over sartorial garments in brushed wool and inlaid fur, embellished with a band of fringed beads or fluorescent apricot Chantilly lace. Sober and provocative at the same time, the FENDI femme fatale cannot give up audacity.
The FENDI Autumn / Winter 2020-2021 accessories collection recreates the atmosphere of the boudoir through the padded leather boots with cage and the satin pumps with strap. Available in three sizes, the new accordion design Peekaboo opens in a big smile, revealing interchangeable internal clutches in smooth and precious leather. It also appears on the catwalk in a version with golden leather fringes or applied lace profiles and pearl tassels.
In collaboration with the London brand of accessories Chaos, designed by Charlotte Stockdale and Katie Lyall, the Maison presents a line of “technological jewels” and small accessories, offering a luxurious response to the daily need to bring your own items. Nothing is missing, from the smartphone cases in woven gold mesh to the perforated FF minaudière, from the smartearplugs to the smartwatch holders.
Leather straps, zip cords and bracelets with links present an assortment of charms with letters of the alphabet, golden lighters and a minimalist set of liqueur glasses. A pen-shaped earring works on both paper and tablets.
The FENDI Women’s Fall / Winter 2020-2021 show takes place on the live notes of SONOIO, an electronic music project by Alessandro Cortini, keyboard player of the acclaimed industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails.
Mon, February 24 2020 » Fashion Blog
FENDI FALL WINTER 2020 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
As an exercise in FENDI-fied classicism, the FENDI Men’s Fall/Winter 2020-2021 Collection designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi re-imagines a new normal, where ‘traditional’ garments are not always what they seem. With retro-futurist undertones, the Collection dances to its own beat of polished utility: distilling the essence of FENDI craftsmanship into a surprising wardrobe for the modern gentleman.
Alternating a sartorial canon of melton wool, heavy twill and flannel with the plush hand of shearling, flocked denim and corduroy suede, the Collection evolves through the application of trompe l’oeil fabrics and transforming proportions. Considering the garment as a body wallet – and vice versa – is a key conceit, as multi-pocket insertions in reversible outerwear, knits and tailored card holders, earphones, and even a cigar.
Inside-out constructions and quilting are traced across blazers and coats cut in compact matte satin, and outerwear shapes in waterproof gabardine are bonded with felt tabs and FENDI Roma taped seams. Double entendres abound, as sleeves or jacket hems zip off in alternating fabrications and colourways, and straight trousers or shorts are spliced with a skirt.
Picking up pieces of the FENDI puzzle old and new, the FENDI Code print interprets the FF logo as a chain link animalia pattern played in multiple abstractions of monochrome and multicolor prints or intarsias. Like a secret message, this graphic motif embodies the season’s slick 70s allure.
Accessories are a tribute to the iconic FENDI yellow. Framed in black, yellow leather shopper bags and charms inspired by vintage FENDI packaging join the Baguette and Peekaboo in handknit wool and different sizes, as well as hard and soft monogram luggage styles – together with a ‘travel Peekaboo’ inspired by 1800s trunks. High and low lug-soled boots, bucket hats and docker beanies subvert formality with an industrial elegance.
Silvia Venturini Fendi collaborates with the Japanese designer Anrealage on a selection of photochromic outerwear and accessories. As the first Ready-to-Wear designer to utilize UV colour-changing fabric technology in 2013, Anrealage creative director Kunihiko Morinaga is an industry pioneer.
The four FENDI Men’s silhouettes represent the first photochromic Menswear on a European runway and include three light-sensitive transformations across sports-inspired outerwear, mittens, inside-out tailoring, bags and accessories. When exposed to UV light a white tiger quilting shines a FENDI yellow and a white diamond quilting reveals a new FENDI Code in black.
Thu, January 23 2020 » Fashion Blog
FENDI SPRING SUMMER 2020 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
SOLAR FLAIR
Drenched in the warmth of an Italian sunrise, the FENDI Women’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi charts a path of playful opulence through a summer’s day. Impossible blooms and ethereal textures intertwine to trick the eye – shifting in weightless moments of FENDI craftsmanship, invoking the hidden decadence of the everyday.
Roman sensibilities luxuriate in the rub of utility with the frivolous and the ultra-feminine. A sunny palette surges into acid brights from wisps of palest pink, honey and pecan. Emerging from a waking dream, the FENDI woman delights in undone expressions of new borghese energy.
Reveling in the refraction of blown-up gingham and block-cut blanket flowers, flurries of graphic geometry invite a sensual play of transparency, perforation, weaving and knits. Pockets and hemlines float on honeycomb tulle creating artful suspensions, translating precious fur techniques into square twinset tailoring and ample jacket shapes bifurcated with diaphanous panels.
Paperbag shorts and trousers in waxed or organic washed cottons meet double-buttoned shirt coats and jackets in cotton toweling, glazed florals or rich suede. Summer fur is bonded to floral lycra or knitted as a plush check, whilst draped sheer sequins and filmy knits echo the sculptural dimensions of cloudy quilting and cloqué. A kaleidoscope of texture and tone remixes FENDI tradition with a streak of summer rebellion.
The FENDI Spring/Summer 2020 Accessories reprise the Collection’s natural materials, as the Peekaboo is woven in compact raffia, latticework leather and open weave FF logo toile. The Baguette is encrusted with blanket flower marquetry and a new short-handle tote is finished in burnished calfskin and stripe suede. Slinky knee socks match stack-heeled slingback loafers and peep-toe floral sandals.
Tue, September 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
FENDI SPRING SUMMER 2020 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
#FendiSS20
A stroll in the garden, reconnecting with nature as we follow gardeners in their path along a pond, under luxuriant trees. For the Men’s Spring/Summer 2020 Collection, Silvia Venturini Fendi brings the FENDI man en plein air, out of the virtual space and of the overwhelming immateriality that is so pervasive in the life of today. In a bucolic yet manual, practical dialogue between man and “the great outdoors” in which the two entities connect, the Collection conveys a breezy pragmatism through an emphasis on functionality and utility, done in the FENDI way.
The start is an earthy, muted palette of greens, beiges and browns combined with natural materials – silks, cottons, wools, cashmere, leathers, suede and denim. Sartorial workwear pieces with a uniform feel meet a certain lightness and air that makes everything weightless and fresher through strategically-placed slits and openings on roomy volumes and perforated garments. Spacious removable pockets are zippered onto place, adding another functional element. Shapes are archetypal: overalls, coats, cargo pants, long polo shirts, vests and suits of course.
Silk pipings, pervasive treillage-effect grids and nets are a celebration of the exquisite FENDI savoir-faire, including a special cut-out FENDI pattern in leather. “Botanics for FENDI” prints devised by director Luca Guadagnino, guest artist of the season, and geometric ones with a vague Kimono flavour add a painterly, gentle touch on waterproof organza. The signature FENDI FF logo and striped Pequin pattern highlight the accessories of the Collection, resulting in a skillful play of logos and textures.
The bags follow the capacious and airy feeling with big totes – in net or cut-out leather – incorporating a removable pouch bag. The Maison icons Baguette and Peekaboo appear in a wide array of variants – from the Essential to the X-Lite – and materials attentively combined together, from precious exotics to woven raffia and classic Selleria leather. The Pequin logo-non-logo also peppers a watering can and a gardening basket for an additional open-air feel.
Echoing the overall gardening mood, high-tops and trainers in canvas and rubber have been developed in collaboration with Moonstar, a Japanese authority in the field. Croco-printed loafers, sandals, boots and Mary Janes for men complete the shoes offer. Under the sun in the garden, finally, a straw hat and a Pequin wool picnic blanket are mandatory. Bottle-opener charms in the shape of gardening tools too.
Wed, June 19 2019 » Fashion Blog
FENDI FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
The FENDI Women’s Fall/Winter 2019-2020 Collection is the final Collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld, representing a lifetime of dedication and creation from 1965 until today. In his perpetual search for beauty and innovation, Karl’s commitment to his craft never waned. This Collection embodies that devotion, from the season’s defining sketches to his ultimate FENDI gesture: the romantic trace of a silk foulard. Reflected in a multitude of ideas, each expression is innately and forever his own.
Eternally forward-looking, the silhouette is triumphant in its depth and majestic in its simplicity. Trompe l’oeil – an enduring signature – defines fabrications with an opulent hand, as architectural planes are shot through with an irresistible lightness. Neutral tones lift through pale ivory tulle, warm cognac patent and terracotta calfskin to sublime shades of daffodil, sea green, tangerine and azure. Like petals or plumes, wallpaper prints become textures on cloque, organza and satin.
Drawn from a pagoda shoulder, zipped and double-breasted tailoring is nipped at the waist and threaded with floating bow belts. In cotton poplin and fine leather, pointed shirt collars button high in Karl’s inimitable style. Worn with full pleated trousers, jacket pockets and asymmetric lapels are outlined in a slick shadow play.
Diamond shapes abound in the shifting lines of transparency, pleating and latticework transposed, one over the other, as wrap knife-pleated skirts, monogram tulle bodysuits and laser cut leather outerwear. Designed in 1981, Karl’s curling ‘Karligraphy’ FF logo monogram appears on cabochon buttons and intarsia fur, as high-collared shift dresses whisper softly in diaphanous silk and honeycomb lace.
The FENDI Women’s Fall/Winter 2019-2020 Accessories Collection abounds with newness, as the Baguette is transformed in embossed pillow patent, topstitched vegetal leather and a multi-strap utility harness. A spacious metal frame tote in shiny calf or Pequin stripe shearling folds into a clutch, as the Peekaboo echoes the season’s perforated techniques. Square-heeled flats or pointed high-heel boots in shiny neoprene and scrolling knitted neoprene continue the season’s shadow motif with a contrast sole and zipper.
“The bond between Karl Lagerfeld and FENDI is fashion’s longest love story, one that will continue to touch our lives for years to come. I am profoundly saddened by his passing and deeply touched by his constant care and perseverance until the very end. When we called just a few days before the show, his only thoughts were on the richness and beauty of the Collection. It’s a true testament to his character. He shall be so missed.” – Silvia Venturini Fendi
Sat, February 23 2019 » Fashion Blog
FENDI FALL WINTER 2019 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
“Dualism is in the DNA of FENDI, under every form,” says Silvia Venturini Fendi.
Dialogue is one: the encounter and connection of two personalities. Silvia Venturini Fendi and “Guest Artist” Karl Lagerfeld: a lifetime creative relationship, now becoming explicit in the Men’s Fall/Winter 2019-2020 Collection.
Handwritten notes, images, sketches: a moodboard seamlessly connecting a Parisian studio with a ginormous library to the Roman one, becoming a Collage print transported throughout the Collection. A sketch initiates the conversation – a tailored jacket with shawl collar on one side and lapel on the other.
Everything is dual: futurism and classicism swirl in a palette dominated by black, beige and brown, with accents of red and electric blue. Transparency and see-through give consistency to FENDI’s free-flowing lightness, playing with volumes and materials: the tuxedo is cut in organza, just like halves puffer parkas and intarsia fur pieces.
Zippers split knitwear and plongé nappa pieces in two, functionally, interchanging left with right, front with back. The metallic and shimmering luster of silver and gold is a streetwear reminiscent presence, from the anorak to the mink coat. Little chains draw pinstripes on high-collared shirts and lines on ribbed knits.
A futuristic FF logo alternates with a calligraphic one, found also on accessories, from gold chains to chevalier rings. Shoes echo Lagerfeld’s signature, as the Cuban heels on cordovan or patent shoes. A functional traveler, the FENDI man brings his essentials around into cases, studded, foldable or defended by transparent covers turning into shoppers.
FENDI’s legendary Baguette makes its debut for men: from mini to maxi, in precious croco or mink and Selleria leather. To be worn cross-body, hand-carried or as a belt bag. The Peekaboo family with its members and evolutions: X-Lite Fit and the new Essential for men. The signature bonded nylon of PORTER meets the two iconic FENDI shapes, which become ultralight and outsized in this contemporary collaboration.
According to Silvia Venturini Fendi, the moment is ripe to bring sartorial formality back, always with a FENDI twist.
Fri, January 25 2019 » Fashion Blog
FENDI SPRING SUMMER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
Entwined in an urban jungle, the Spring/Summer 2019 Collection by Karl Lagerfeld delights in the symmetries of the natural world, where the pragmatic and the exotic combine.
Utilitarian romance abounds in a mineral palette of sage, cognac, burgundy, tangerine, optic white, denim, and sand. Garments are engineered for an evocative, feminine line.
Through looking-glass transparency, airy perforations breathe life into contoured masculine shapes: gathered patch pockets, ruched sleeves and a bib collar softens jackets, parkas and fluid blousons in embossed FF logo leather, summer wool, or PVC.
Double corsets define a graphic waist sculpted in rich leather or matte poplin, as print organza jacquard and filmy intarsia knits create sensual shadow play.
Tessellated patterns swirl in circles of flora and fauna across iridescent silk dresses, refracted furs and full skirts above scuba court shoes and sandals.
Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the Spring/Summer 2019 Accessories Collection features the iconic Peekaboo bag adorned with its DeFender waterproof shell, interchangeable handles and novelty utility pockets: echoing tool belts with pouches for your phone and coins.
The legendary Baguette returns, adorned in fantasy sequin embellishments and featuring a new oversized shape with ultralight glove-soft embossed logo leather that appears also on the new ‘Upside Down’ folding envelope bag with a FF logo clasp.
Sun, September 30 2018 » Fashion Blog
FENDI SPRING SUMMER 2019 MEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
Taking a walk on FENDI’s dark side, and back. Playfully. Dualism as a trait of the FENDI DNA: FF, after all, is double.
FENDI/FIEND. ROMA/AMOR. Anagramming to make opposites collide. Fiend as little demon, but also as aficionado. Amor as love. Tiny demons and FF-forked snakes, cards and dice multiply over the surfaces, propelled by Nico Vascellari. Menacingly, insouciantly.
A performing, easy wardrobe of streamlined, easy staples: raincoats, blousons, anoraks, tailored pants, shirts, sport shorts, knitted polo shirts. Playing with its double, what looks sturdy becomes light, as perforations and nets are featured predominantly, making air a part of the texture. Playing with opposites, what looks like leather is paper, while leather gains a papery feel.
A trademark FENDI graphic play: stripes running askew on sheer shirts; FF and Pequin taping on waterproof gear; ultrasound hole punches on leather pieces. The graphic dualism of contrasting hues: red with black, white with brown. Total black as a new addition to the FENDI chromatic code, finding lightness in it.
The functionality of accessorizing: the new Peekaboo X-Lite bag, bucket hats, crossbody pouches. The elastic sling back moccasins make their return. Running sandals sport hi-tech cushioned soles, with or without socks, making the walk around Roma easier and faster, delivering plenty of Amor.
Yin and Yang, darkness and light find their balance, in FF territory. Now please enter or exit the tunnel.
Mon, July 2 2018 » Fashion Blog
FENDI FALL WINTER 2018 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – MILAN FASHION WEEK
For a romantic uniform in a woman’s world, the Fall/Winter 2018-19 Collection is a mirror of softness and strength. The lines of architecture are intertwined with wistful notions of urban femininity with an outdoor edge, in a palette of navy, black, moss green, camel, claret, ivory and blushing pink.
A box shoulder creates a framework for capes -shoulder slips- and belted coats that fall with a planed sleeve, zipping open at the hip in a cascade of sunray pleating. Trompe l’oeil yoke details create delicate hybrids within a single garment. Tailoring fabrics define the city attitude of slim coats and skirt suits in Prince of Wales checks, grisaille wool and glazed canvas.
Pondering the simple elegance of a lady’s handkerchief, pleated silk dresses and scalloped blouses are adorned with needlepoint collars and encrusted lace. The diamond becomes a leitmotif in print, texture and construction, from FENDI argyle knitwear to plush intarsias and a dramatic latticework of beaded fringes. In bright pebbled calfskin, stamped leather or satin, pointed Western boots rise to mid-calf or knee length featuring a double Cuban heel.
This Collection sees the debut of the Double F bag, a two-sided chain bag featuring ‘F’ corner frames on one side, and the round FENDI stamp on the other. A new unstructured Peekaboo X-Lite bag is defined by a soft construction and contrasting internal pocket popping in precious leather, pastel calfskin or iconic FF.
The Women’s Fall/Winter 2018-19 Collection includes the FENDI/FILA logo created by the artist @hey_reilly, re-appropriated by the House across ready-to-wear and accessories.
Tue, February 27 2018 » Fashion Blog
