The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was a fittingly grand setting for Fendi’s season-defining debut on the couture schedule last night. Silver Moon was the label’s first foray into Haute Fourrure – a triumphant display of Lagerfeld’s mastery of exotic materials.
From the first ensemble – a gargantuan, stormy grey fur coat with an eskimo hood, paired with second-skin metallic leather boots – it was clear that the 37-strong procession would tow a different path to the fluro-hued, “fun fun” of the label’s cult ready to wear. This was set to be the most mature collection of furry creations the house – and perhaps, the industry – has ever experienced.
To Lagerfeld, fur is fabric, and his technological nous is to be credited for the show’s incredible impact. Otherworldly, cocooning cuts were elevated with painstaking embroidery and 3D beading, and highlighted with flashes of metallic silver that offered a futuristic tint. Several of the pieces has such intricately-worked linings that they were deemed entirely reversible.
The house employed an exclusive “silver fur” process to finish pelts with a luminous, metallic sheen, without compromising on the plush handle, while supporting fabrics were so sheer and light that they gave the furs a gravity-defying lightness.
It may be tempting at this point to delve down the rabbit-hole, and offer a comment on the endless fur debate. However, we end impartially with this thought: a show of this scale was surely LVMH’s considered attempt to cement Fendi as the final word in fine fur – and it’s undeniable that this move has just paid off in full.
by Roberta Lister