Fendi presents its first haute couture show on Thursday, led by designer Maria Grazia Chiuri. The show features a luxurious collection of black and cream-colored looks and is a tribute to the late couturier Karl Lagerfeld.
The show takes place in Rome, where Fendi was founded in 1925. Celebrities such as Monica Bellucci, Jessica Alba and Italian influencer Chiara Ferragni are present. The show opens with the luxury brand’s instantly recognizable black and cream stripes on sheer, gossamer dresses and tunics.
Renewed swirls and diagonals are reflected in Chiuri’s very elegant collection. The collection is characterized by satin and delicate, translucent silk. Art Deco elements from the 1930s, such as silver graphics, also make an appearance.
Black fringes adorn the bodices, while velvet on lace collars is an extra luxurious addition. Stripes of leather piping decorate the shoulders and the capes feature complex embroidery, sometimes interwoven with fur.
Under the high white ceilings and marble columns of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, guests sip prosecco and sample hors d’oeuvres. Some are cooling themselves against the July humidity with their new Fendi raffia fans.
With the presence of the Italian Minister of Culture, the highly anticipated show proves that it is not only Milan that is causing a stir in the fashion world.
“Rome is increasingly positioning itself on the international fashion scene as one of the most important fashion capitals,” Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told AFP. He calls the Rome-born Chiuri an ‘extraordinary artist’ and a ‘top Roman’.
Fashion for the museum
The event is also a tribute to Lagerfeld. The German legend was the house’s creative director for more than 50 years until his death in 2019. Guests will see a replay of his famous 1985 museum exhibition with Fendi.
“After steps through work. Fendi/Karl Lagerfeld 1985” opens to the public on Friday and runs until October 25. The exhibition highlights the myriad creative processes behind a Fendi fur garment, from original sketches and swatch boards to patterns and samples.
In 1985, the show at this same art museum caused a scandal.
“It caused a stir. Major art critics praised it, but at the same time there were people who could not accept fashion entering the art world. It even led to a parliamentary debate,” Silvia Venturini Fendi, honorary president of the brand, told Vogue magazine last year.
Collaboration between museums and fashion houses, using archives and presenting designs, is widespread today. Fashion as a legitimate art form is now celebrated worldwide.
The exhibition shows a wall with Lagerfeld’s sketches from the early 1980s. It concerns about 200 sketches from a collection of 2,000, made with colored pencil and marker. The designer’s penchant for volume, with wide, exaggerated shoulders and flared hems, is clearly visible.
The exhibition shows Lagerfeld’s ‘inexhaustible imagination’, in the words of the curators. Sometimes an original sketch is presented alongside the final garment.
In one case, a pencil sketch of sweeping lines can be seen in the final version: a black-and-white double-breasted coat decorated with dozens of pleats on the sleeves and collar.
Sample boards show how Lagerfeld tested different techniques, colors and stitching options in fur and leather. The material is manipulated into swirls, patterns or tactile undulations.
Fendi, owned by French conglomerate LVMH since 2001, hired Chiuri last October. With this, the Roman returns to the house where she started her career in accessories under Lagerfeld.
After stints at Valentino and making history as Dior’s first female creative director, Chiuri said earlier this year that she wanted to “give back” on her return to Fendi. She was referring to those who inspired her in the beginning: the Fendi sisters behind the company and her mentor Lagerfeld.
The National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art has the largest collection of Italian and international art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The collection includes masterpieces by Giorgio de Chirico and Amedeo Modigliani, among others.
This article has been translated into Dutch using an AI tool.
FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up the translation of (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time that they can spend on research and writing their own articles. Articles translated using AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor before going online. If you have any questions or comments about this process, please email info@fashionunited.com.
