Fendi has embarked on a diverse series of projects and collections that will cross the ‘part lines’ of the industry. The first chapter in the project, spearheaded by Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi, is a collaboration with Italian designer Stefano Pilati.
Pilati, who has worked for brands including Zegna and Saint Laurent, reaches a new conclusion for the house, going beyond gender and the notion of menswear and womenswear to create something more character-driven and iconoclastic.
“Stefano is one of the designers I admire the most. I was always in love with his work, and he is somebody I look up to – he has been an inspiration for what I do. Stefano epitomises Friends of FENDI: He is a friend, an inspiration and a designer for modern times, always looking to the future, asking questions and proffering solutions.” Said Kim Jones, Fendi’s Creative Director of womenswear.
“Milano versus Roma: I am from Milan, but there is a freedom in the Roman style that Milan does not have – there is always ‘more’. This is a coming together of two worlds, and I am so touched by the opportunity that Kim, Silvia and FENDI have given me to be so much myself while exploring theirs, the incomparable world of FENDI.” Added Stefano Pilati.
The collection, which debuts in selected Fendi stores this month, takes inspiration from the 1920s flapper era, reinterpreting it for today with a playful approach. Stefano is known for being a master of cut and construction, and he uses his expertise to reinvent and restructure classic pieces in new contemporary ways while breaking all the rules! The collection comprises garments that transcend genders. The rigour and construction of a masculine world are combined with a feminine linear curve, particularly in the tailoring, which features a softer, more voluminous construction.
Women’s tailoring is much more casual and can also be worn by men, while men’s tailoring is presented in silk and leather. Sever experiments in traditional construction take place throughout the collection. A new relaxed ‘basque’– in its traditional sense as a bodice – is featured in tailored trousers and skirts with a drawstring waistband, the soft bodice in a fabric that adheres to the contrasting cotton and silk shirting in the collection, flattering and extending the line of the body. This structure is also echoed in the collection’s dresses.
As well as a series of ready-to-wear looks, the Friends of Fendi collection by Stefano Pilato features a range of accessories, including iconic and new shapes, reapproached with a new eye and curated in a collaboration between Silvia Venturini Fendi and Stefano Pilati. The new Baguette Twist features the FF buckle on the sides (as opposed to the fastening), and is crafted from colour-blocking smooth nappa leather. The new Fendi Boston 365 bag is presented in a modern, sleek design with a magnetic opening and hammered leather. A new, pillowy, softly constructed leather Baguette also makes a debut appearance; featuring a bold FENDI metallic logo script, the handle can also be worn as an ornament attached to the shoulder strap.
Jewellery, designed by Delfina Delettrez Fendi, also plays with codes of duality: the masculine and feminine, the bourgeois and the aristocratic, hard and soft. ‘Milanese’ mesh is utilised, dense but soft, overprinted with the dynamic Fendi logo while colours of metal mix in silver and gold. The classic and the obsessive become one: a watch strap aesthetic runs throughout, with this typically masculine decoration utilised for each gender through patterning traditionally seen on watches and lighters. There is a heaviness in the contrast of aristocratic rings, particularly sought in the symbol of the signet ring and how an individual wears it.
