KARL Lagerfeld the savant has long been a sort of sage to fashion no matter which atelier he commandeers creative control over. This was seen in his SS17 collection for Fendi where the designer showed us what is also happening elsewhere in Milan, a movement favouring more adventurous and confident designs in womenswear. Whether that means his more daring designs this season appeared inaccessible to the wallflowers of this world or not, one thing is clear, Lagerfeld sees a desire really dress up again.
The cinch waists said it all, creating commandingly womanly silhouettes that were cut and constructed across the board on short skirt suits and shirt dresses equally as generous with the displays of leg. This was also done with a high-dose of Lagerfeld’s conceptual take on the simplest skirt, sweater or slip, adding bold bars of stripe to give structure, fastening with additional ropes of fabric and showing more chunks of skin, giving more gravitas to his large-and-in-charge design for the future of womenswear.
Bag bugs aplenty accosted the striking selection of bags that polished off the pieces nicely. Come the final of the 57 looks shown, a dress scathed in shimmering gold lame, it was clear that Lagerfeld had a very clear idea of what he wanted to do this time round, make alluring dresses for assured consumers. He achieved that with aplomb.
by Livia Feltham
Images courtesy of Fendi