In her first collection as creative director of womenswear, Silvia Venturini Fendi channelled joyful summers spent on the island of Ponza
Yesterday, with a collection titled Solar Flair, Silvia Venturini Fendi marked her first solo womenswear collection since the death of Karl Lagerfeld, who had helmed Fendi’s ready-to-wear line since its inception in 1977. Last season, his final collection was presented amid an emotive video tribute; this time, a backdrop of a rising sun, which radiated warm orange light along the catwalk – for the first time lowered to ground level – suggested new beginnings.
Venturini Fendi, though, was keen to downplay the sense of occasion – or, indeed, the suggestion that this was a moment of change. After all, the designer, whose grandparents founded the brand in 1925, was a close collaborator with Lagerfeld – “before, there was a dialogue, a big dialogue,” she said backstage – and together, they constructed a Fendi for the 21st century. She was responsible for accessories – including Fendi’s most ubiquitous export, the Baguette bag, in 1997 – and continues to helm the house’s successful menswear and childrenswear arms.
The rising sun, she explained, was literal: this season’s inspiration emerged from the simple joy of summer, recalling sun-filled family holidays spent at the Fendi home on the island of Ponza, between Naples and Greece. “It’s where you can see the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets, I think, in the world,” she said backstage. “I think when you are in this period of year, you feel more liberated and relaxed than at any time, and you have that feeling of being ready for new experiences.”
As such, the collection channelled a summer mood: there were terry-cloth skirts, like beach towels, gingham dresses, in featherweight organza, an array of colourful block-cut floral prints. Quilted fabrics recalled the comfort of blankets; whether roomy outerwear, akin to the 1960s house coat, or softly quilted boxer shorts, elasticated around the waist. A summery palette shifted from tropical acid brights to warm tans, pinks, and yellows; the silhouette relaxed and roomy, lightly cinched at the waist for shape. The house’s signature Peekaboo and Baguette handbags returned in new iterations; woven raffia, latticed leather, floral marquetry, and hot-pink bouclé among them.
And, though the pieces showed off the immense abilities of the Fendi atelier and craftspeople, Venturini Fendi said the collection itself was nonetheless grounded in reality. “I don’t call it ‘ready-to-wear,’ I call it ‘real-to-wear’,” she said. “I want women to feel natural and good in these clothes.”
