Fendi has caught the fun-loving bug. The Made in Italy contingent has pressed hard in recent years to recapture the contemporary shopper’s now rather harried attention span (indeed, even Fendi’s showroom has its own hashtag, #Fendishowroom, emblazoned on its stylish walls) with tales of a former time when people shopped alongside artisans working an awl at a bench.
The storied Roman label’s latest collection puts a new, youthful twist on sentimental legacies, pushing the current craze for creative fur into higher realms and a far wider social context. Courtesy of a small fuzzy leitmotif, and no it’s not Choupette... yet Karl Lagerfeld rather cleverly managed to disprove the notion we may no longer live the kind of life that requires a mink coat, or indeed a hot pink fox-trimmed pair of sneakers.
His collectible fur Bag Bugs handbag charms, which fast became part of the street style set in fall 2013, were smartly incorporated into the ready-to-wear collection and accessories for pre-fall, singlehandedly elevating the design, and raising fur’s fun standard. Mr. Lagerfeld is most certainly not one for nostalgia, and furry faces on moon boots, a shearling bomber, and cashmere sweaters stated very clearly that he believes furs should follow fashion trends. Pretty new takes on organza cocktail dresses came adorned with microcrystal and sequin “bug” embellishments, and a powder pink version, accessorized with a sleeveless matching hued mink vest and a gold leather lining, underlined the designer’s love of a surprise element.
Even the Baguette and its new reincarnations, like the 3Baguette and its miniature versions, peered out from the shelves, some quite literally with their new bug eyes, seemingly readying themselves for a new generation of owners. Stripes of all denominations were the centerpiece of the multicolored coat collection. Intarsia, the intricate cutting and matching of different elements, lent itself to statement outerwear pieces that underlined the house’s pole position in the current graphic-fur craze. Minuscule strips of fur, deftly assembled into modern chromatic prints, like those that recalled a piano’s keys, or a standout wool blanket-style coat with graphic shearling intarsia-striped inserts and contrast leather belt, and buttery soft leather-striped dresses. The outer layers set the tone for the rest of the outfits, such as plissé-patterned long skirts or cute sixties-esque geometric dresses.
Oversize and relaxed silhouettes, including some ponchos and loose, kimono-like jackets, expressed Lagerfeld’s predilection for casual understatement. As did replacing bourgeois buttons with languorously belted styles, sports zippers, and finishes like leather piping and a fox style painstakingly constructed on an organza tulle, so light and flexible it could be rolled up and placed in a backpack (a multicolored shearling one, naturally, with a bug’s face).
Selections by ANDREA JANKE Finest Accessories
Photo Credit/Source: The House of FENDI
More To Love ...
Next January, Fendi’s new global headquarters will be located in the 1953 Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome, whose graceful, stately arches were inspired by the paintings of the Metaphysical artist Giorgio de Chirico. There’s always been an easy and seamless coexistence of past and present in Rome and, coincidentally, at Fendi too, where cocreators Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi have long fused time-honored artisanal techniques with hypermodern technology ...
No comments:
Post a Comment