Seen through the looking glass, the FENDI Women’s and Men’s Spring Summer 2021 Collections are a patchwork of memories designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi. Time spent with family – generations reunited at home in Rome – is a catalyst for quiet introspection: at the window or in the garden, watching the world go by.
From the inside looking out, and the outside looking in, shadows and reflections are cast across the collections. Intimacy is abstracted through signposts of domestic life – a trousseau of stories unpacked and unfolded in a weaving together of the precious and the plain. The purity of linen is vital: romanced with cotton, feathers, fur and eiderdown quilting, it conjures images of embroidered bedding and tableware – maternal souvenirs passed down from mother to child. A flaxen palette breathes in natural shades of wheat, milk and honey amidst reflections of sky blue and cardinal red, as cinematic black and white shine like spotlights cast on cloth. Windows – metaphorical and physical – are a leitmotif impressed upon garments in a game of transparency and texture throughout.
In tandem, the Women’s and Men’s Collections explore FENDI traditions stripped bare – from boutis satin quilting to the linear encrustations of jour d’echelle ladder-work and flourishes of ajouré flowers that expose skin to create layers of light and shade. Formal structures are softened – coat backs and shirt sleeves unbutton, tailored details are ‘debossed’ in trompe l’oeil knitwear, and embroidered house coats and flared tunics elevate the comforts of home. Lightness and depth intermingle in faded flora print linens and latticework furs, or the intricate workmanship of apron dresses in silk duchesse, embroidered tulle and gazar. Acknowledging the gravity of a moment, clothes tell stories of the rigour of Italian craft and the emotion of our universal experience – FENDI workmanship applied under surreal circumstances.
The FENDI Women’s and Men’s Spring Summer 2021 Accessories collections play with construction and embellishment to conceal and reveal. In movement, embroidered silk veils float over Baguette and Peekaboo bags in floral fur and cotton ajouré or quilted FF logo leather. Woven textures abound: market baskets in recycled PVC, stretch lattice frame totes, picnic baskets and canvas luggage are pragmatic and light-hearted solutions for daily life.
The ‘hand in hand’ Baguette project celebrates a unique collaboration with local artisans across Italy, including the Abruzzo and Marche regions shown on the runway. Handcrafted in Abruzzo, a sheer Baguette is constructed in tombolo aquilano sugar-coated lace, a technique refined by Benedictine nuns since the 15th century. From Marche, a structured Baguette woven in strands of natural willow is inspired by the baskets of local fishermen.
Laser-cut and ajouré apron belts hold the second iteration of the FENDI X CHAOS ‘tech jewellery’ capsule collection dipped in pastel colours, and chain drop earrings feature pearls and pairs of cheeky FENDI dice.
On foot for Women – woven boots, elastic pumps, and rattan pool slides evoke a tonal spring elegance. For Men – sling-back boat shoes and T-bar plimsolls are new twisted classics.
