FENDI presented its Spring/Summer 2026 women’s and men’s collections against a set conceived by Marc Newson, marking the designer’s return to a collaboration that began in Milan 25 years ago.
The installation, an undulating pixelated colour field, was inspired by FENDI’s floral motifs and constructed as a patchwork of quilt-like squares. For Newson, the project was both a celebration of craft and a study of colour, drawing on heritage while embracing innovation.
Silvia Venturini Fendi described the season as “a relaxed and colourful sense of ease with a romantic elegance.” She emphasised the fluidity between everyday life and artisanal craft, noting how simple gestures were underpinned by complex workmanship. This duality shaped silhouettes that were at once familiar and reimagined.
The collection balanced structure with softness. Fabrics were engineered to be featherlight, from crisp transparencies to lustrous sheers, creating garments for urban settings. Bright hues defined pared-down volumes, while impressionist floral motifs appeared across organza layers or piped into delicate daisy shapes. Tailoring intersected with sportswear in versatile forms: drawstring waists, unzipped jackets and two-tone jerseys.
Women’s and men’s looks were conceived together, exchanging details such as suspender-style tabs, corsetry references and modular construction. A man’s shirt was reworked into tuxedo-bibbed blouses and mini-dresses, highlighting a dialogue between boyish and feminine codes. Fabrics ranged from crochet polos to technical shell suits with plush panels, underscoring a play between craft and utility.
Accessories extended this sense of experimentation. The FENDI Collier bag featured a drawstring pouch ruched on a bauble handle, while the new trapezoidal FENDI Way bag appeared in suede and calfskin. House icons including the Baguette, Spy and Peekaboo were refreshed with silk cable knits, beaded cages and basket-weave leather. Footwear continued the narrative with slingback sandals, latticework loafers and woven lace-ups, while Delfina Delettrez Fendi introduced gold and enamel jewellery alongside cat’s-eye aviators.
The show’s multigenerational cast walked to a soundtrack by Frédéric Sanchez, who layered electronic compositions with voices from Italian cinema and fragments of opera. This “pixelised promenade” through Rome echoed the set’s digital quilt aesthetic, underscoring FENDI’s centenary focus on heritage, craft and modernity.
