“Rome has a certain spirituality as a city,” says Fendi’s artistic director, Kim Jones. “Not necessarily just something religious, but something present in the layers of its history. That’s what my vision for Fendi is all about: celebrating the power of women.” From its ancient past to the exciting present, the Italian capital was the perfect location for Jones’ Fendi women’s couture presentation. “When you walk down the street in Rome, you are constantly moving back and forth in time,” says Jones. “Where we work feels very modern, but you pass monuments on the way there. There’s a total timelessness to the city: a historic vein which runs through it, but also a movement that is projecting forward.” Fendi was started in Rome in 1925 and has always honored the city’s historic codes.
“Rome, for me, has so many layers to it,” says Jones. “It’s such an ancient city. We’re always thinking of the past, present and future of it. The inspiration came from the idea of different times and that very spiritual side of Rome, which becomes almost celestial; almost space.” This collection’s sci-fi silhouettes are expertly crafted using futuristic techniques, finding harmonies between past and present. Ethereal fabrics like duchesse silk and organza are illuminated with traditional beading and mother-of-pearl, while heat-molded leathers are embroidered with micro sequins, mink and pearls to create powerful, armor-like finishes. “The idea of the future and what’s going on in the world made me think about space,” says Jones. “I’ve been reading and looking at lots of sci-fi recently. I read Dune again because I’d watched it and I wanted to remind myself what the book was like. And the actual Star Wars book by George Lucas.” Volcanic stone and hematite are embedded into bags, and natural crystal geodes and amethysts adorn jewelry in a nod to the city’s archeological remnants of ancient civilizations.
