Fendi’s spring/summer 2021 show marked multiple firsts—but also lasts—for the house. The first in-person show of Milan Fashion Week since lockdown; Fendi’s first co-ed show; and Silvia Venturini Fendi’s last solo offering. Come February, Fendi will be joined by her newly-appointed partner-in-crime, Kim Jones, as he succeeds the helm of Karl Lagerfeld. This collection marks the house’s transition from Karl to Kim, but first, Silvia Venturini Fendi made sure to make a strong case for family tradition.
An ode to family time and values, it seemed fitting for Fendi to breathe that nostalgia into reinvented house classics. Namely the Baguette and Peekaboo—and who better than the last Fendi family member standing to lead this reimagination? The collection felt like a sartorial breath of fresh air from the house, with references to time spent at home, as seen in Fendi’s use of the lightest of linens and broderie anglaise—textures that hold a dear connection to domesticity and craft. At times even the shoes and totes were reminiscent of napkins, doilies and fruit foam nets, but rendered in collection-specific shades of periwinkle and fuchsia. Picnic gear took the form of caged market totes and wicker baskets, towel strapped to the side. The clothes themselves served as a clean palette for an otherwise texturally busy collection. The colour story was kept linear: from muted sepia tones to the dominant blues and crimsons that piqued the eye.
This familial sentiment extended to the show’s invite, which featured Fendi-shaped pasta by Rummo, along with her grandmother’s lemon pesto recipe, and photographs of the Fendi family. It’s a moving message in a time where some parts of the world remain physically distant from their families, while some of us feel the stress of being too physically proximate. As the house welcomes a new member to the Fendi family, this was just right in its closeness to the family name.