MILAN, ITALY — Protest can be a loaded theme for a runway show. In recent years, brands whose previous sociocultural engagements could be described as lax have been co-opting their symbols within their collections, a move that can appear trite or, worse yet, opportunistic.
Designers like Maria Grazia Chiuri, Fendi’s newly-appointed chief creative officer, who has long tied her work to themes of representation and women’s rights, face a new challenge: how to address the concerns of these overarching issues while maintaining a certain degree of authenticity at a new luxury house, where she’s now at the helm.
In the past, Chiuri has used her outings as a platform for feminist ideas or to weave bigger threads of identity, utilising fashion and artworks as a means of conveying a full story beyond garments. For this debut collection, the clothes spoke for themselves, though she staged her work at the house’s headquarters against a plain backdrop and orange light bulbs placed atop the towering ceilings.
One look at the pieces made Chiuri’s message clear—change is undoubtedly upon us, and the people inhabiting our daily consciousness and life are the ones who will inevitably bring it.
Plurality, community and revisiting motifs from the past to inform the present are all elements that have been at the core of Fendi’s lingua franca for years, but Chiuri reimagined several themes that have become signatures within her work; all shaped by a darker undertone. Moving the decorative collars she’s used on dresses onto military-style jumpsuits, she ditched airy elegance in favour of contemporary rebellion.
Remixing standards like the functional jacket and power suit into neutrality and practical-led separates in structured textures, she presented technicality with an off-kilter vibe. The combo of a leopard print gilet and a pine green boilersuit could be appropriate for a walk on the wild side, but the ultra-functional prettiness almost begged for an occasion.
On the flip side, transparent lace dresses might seem too revealing for the day, but their sheer beauty, when layered and teamed with big accessories, made it seem worth the risk. At a time when fashion and consumer tastes are flooded with numerous options, finding new ways to wear the familiar could truly be the answer. Through the years, and in this debut, Chiuri’s vision of what women need feels bold and unabashed.
Blouses with breezy shapes, dresses with elongated volumes and fur coats that speak to a specific kind of downtowner were all in the mix in this outing, but the appeal of her womenswear look has broadened to a far broader territory this season. Increasingly, the last few seasons have seen women emboldened and ready to wear offerings that make them feel part of something more significant—offerings that embrace culture on their sleeves or eschew traditional ready-to-wear.
Overall, there was a seemingly eclectic number of proposals for a varied clientele here, such as tees and toppers cut gently and breezily, to create a sense of ease and function. Nothing here really knocked your socks off, save for the final gowns in dusky palettes that were finely-sculpted and body-hugging, but that wasn’t the point. These were pieces intended to be worn in a versatile way within urbane Gen Xers’ wardrobes (chief among them Carla Bruni and Uma Thurman, both seated amid the star-studded front row and cheering for the new designer as she took her final bow).
Clever? Maybe. But it’s these clothes’ subtle message that will keep most people—and Chiuri’s new direction—talking.
by Chidozie Obasi