KIM Jones wanted to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary for Fendi’s spring-summer 2024 collection. Taking the simple routine of his daily walk from his hotel in Rome to the Colosseum with his headphones in, he was able to soundtrack his life into an imaginary movie every morning.
Transforming passerby into Fendi characters but keeping the “elegance in ease and not caring what anybody else thinks” that Jones pinpoints as the biggest luxury, he took to his office to sketch what quiet luxury truly looks like.
“In this collection, I wanted to reflect that. It is about women who dress for themselves and their own lives, I see it with Silvia and Delfina all of the time. It’s not about the spectacle of being looked at but the reality of wearing and the confidence and chicness that comes with it. It’s not about being something but being someone,” noted the designer.
There is a certain duality that is seen in SS24, it balances the inspiration behind the collection with the heritage of the Italian fashion House.
On the one hand, Jones has built looks on moving beyond perfection and into imperfection, where comfort builds confidence through inherent craftsmanship that the wearer can feel but the observer can’t see. It’s here that you become the protagonist in your own film.
On the other hand, Fendi is renowned for its craftsmanship. Utilising traditional tailoring with more masculine materials, the fluidity of feminine sensibilities is given a revamp as the more rigid elements are combined with a myriad of silks and knits.
Evening slips are transformed into pieces for your day; Fendi’s Featherlike technique is implored to craft towelling-like skirts; and over-sized car coats are paired with dainty shoes to take the utility of menswear and add it to ready-to-wear.
What is most evident across the fashion landscape is that Y2K and references to specific cult moments are slowing down, but that isn’t to say the revival of the past isn’t here.
Taking elements from Karl Lagerfeld’s tenure at the brand and listening to the shift of going back to more minimalistic elegance, Fendi’s SS24 is an accumulation of what his clients want: something that won’t go out of fashion next season, something that will pass the test of time – and I think Jones may have just done that.
by Imogen Clark