Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld, whose boundless erudition is rather unmatched, and to Silvia Venturini Fendi, whose sense of fearless creative daring is also unique, to give Fendi’s design studio the most diverse and apparently incongruous set of references to work with. For Pre-Fall, they took inspiration from a book on 19th-century French ironwork gates and an antique tome on men’s Japanese kimonos. The collection’s dialogue between curlicued baroque graphics and almost inconspicuous exotic micro patterns was a virtuoso exercise in decorative bravura.
To counterbalance the abundance of surface ornamentation, shapes were kept strict, tailored, and masculine, highlighting the play on opposites that is one of Fendi’s compelling style traits. Coats and double-breasted blazers were cut sharp, severe, and elongated, often boasting quirky asymmetrical lapels. Softened with discreet mink details and sometimes cinched at the waist for a feminine hourglass silhouette, they were worn over sensual see-through dresses or with full-circle, swirling plissé skirts.
The masculine tailoring was again counterpointed by an injection of sporty utilitarian elements, rendered with eccentric flair, as in a shirt-jacket hybrid that was one of the collection’s new proposals. The best example was in a bright turquoise shade of soft suede, unfussily cut in slightly oversize proportions and paired with acid green cropped pants. Practical pockets as big as bags sprouted from a zippered leather city coat embossed with the double-F logo. On a sensational ’70s-inspired slim and belted midi coat in punched leather net, the pockets came in fluffy quilted red mink.
As always chez Fendi, craftsmanship was stellar; here, the curlicue motifs were rendered in as many conceivable artisanal (shall we say artistic?) iterations as possible: printed all over on silk jacquard, embroidered on silk tulle, or as mink intarsia inlaid on a mink fur bomber. A sumptuous black coat was emblazoned with the ironwork motif in silver silicone; apparently, its prototype was made using a pastry icing bag and then rendered serially. It really looked like a succulent piece of cake. With the same hyperbolic sense of experimentation, the pattern was embroidered on silk tulle via thin-sliced strips of leather, painstakingly hand-sewn to achieve the look of the flimsiest lace, which was the fabric of choice for ethereal yet densely decorated evening dresses, light as feathers and of exquisite feminine allure.
