For his sophomore ready-to-wear collection for Fendi, Kim Jones went to the dancefloor.
After more than a year without live shows, the designer sought to inject the first season back with the kind of joie de vivre that conjures up glittering disco balls, writhing bodies and vibrating bass. Taking place under archways reminiscent of the house’s Roman home, the Palazzo della Civiltà, and between columns made of mirror, the scene was unmistakably Fendi, played to a disco beat.
The Spring 2022 collection, he wrote in the show notes, constitutes a “modern perspective on disco-age glamour” and spotlights “the diverse and powerful femininity that underscores the FENDI name.” Women – confident, fully-embodied and of all ages – are always front of mind when Jones is designing his Fendi collections, with this one no exception. Fringe dresses that look ready to dance in, plexiglass hoops made to stand-out and tailored suits that could have been worn by Bianca Jagger herself at Studio 54 all hint at a woman that not only knows herself, but isn’t afraid to declare it to the world. Or, as Jones put it: “anyone who wants to feel good about themselves…she’s someone of her own making.”
Another big presence in the show was the work of fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez – a longtime friend and collaborator of the late Karl Lagerfeld. “He was a big, big fashion influencer for a lot of people, but is not so talked about,” Jones said of Lopez. “He had this relationship with Karl and with Fendi, and he helped shape so many strong visions of women, because he loved them: that feels very authentic and topical.”Drawn from his archives, Jones reimagined Lopez’s work as exaggerated brushstrokes on kaftans and silk shirts, as well as taking his drawings and turning them into intarsia leather thigh-highs and intricately engineered lace. Lopez had worked with Lagerfeld on a Fendi logo, and Jones dug it up and reimagined it in a unique jacquard design.
Not one to merely talk-the-talk, Jones was true to his messaging and appeared for his runway bow arm-in-arm with artistic director of accessories and men’s wear collections, Silvia Venturini Fendi, and her daughter Delfina Delettrez Fendi, who serves as jewelry creative director. You won’t ever hear Kim Jones talking about the women behind him, because they’ll be standing right beside him.
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