A “psychedelic promenade” is how Frédéric Sanchez described this show to Silvia Venturini Fendi as they were working on its soundtrack concept. Sanchez was right: this show was a trip. Fendi herself, though, was more circumspect. She said: “I like not to give a definition in words to the collection, because it’s made of so many different thoughts.”
When you unravelled that creative hubbub, several of those thoughts emerged as dominant. One of them revolved around the recalibration of sportswear: Fendi repeatedly either took recognisably sportswear-sourced templates and elevated them to demi-couture level through fabrication, or applied the functional motifs of sportswear to garments where they typically wouldn’t be. Tracksuits were reconfigured in sartorial wool (for men) or organza (for women) in a process of cultivation so thorough even the zipper tapes were silk. Elsewhere Fendi applied coloured elastic drawstrings with cord locks to skirts and halter neck dresses fashioned from irregular blocks of tiered pleated fabric. They were also used to partially cinch the skirts of jackets which came with patch pockets placed eccentrically at the small of the back. Elsewhere button jabs were delivered as visible points of tension on tailored jackets and mid-length skirts.
Fendi took a surprising approach to color, sometimes mixing various shades of the same hue in single looks, or combining colors in unlikely partnerships. “Nuance is very important for life, and also for fashion,” she said.
Pattern when it came tended to pulsate, both in the blockily woven bags whose supersized pixellations of colour were reflected in the set by Marc Newson, and the many and multi-sized 3D flower motifs whose pistils were signified in raised plastic-looking discs: Fendi called these “fried flowers” for their resemblance to eggs. A pouch bag with a handle of wooden beads, the coloured sequin lining of Peekaboos left open in the models’ grasp and Baguettes in coloured cable-knit that matched the outfits and block-heeled sandals they accessorised were further mildly surreal twists. Elsewhere lace was delivered in patterns whose florals were emphasised by overprinting, or florals were cut into sheer organza or fur.
Fendi’s cacophony was further amplified by a typically age-diverse casting. “I’m not obsessed by youth at all,” she said: “I find it ridiculous. I like to include people with the serenity to age well.” Which brought us back to Sanchez’s soundtrack, which cut in multiple voices across a collage of musical patterns.
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