Bordering on the edge of the quotidian, Spring leans on the everyday with a couture-like feel.
THERE HAS been a lot of emphasis on craft this season, and so Kim Jones was entirely in his element at Fendi’s spring-summer 2025 show in Milan. Jaws dropped as a silk gown worn with encrusted crystals gently covering the waist and a satin dress with a fitted bodice nipped and tucked from soft fabrications swished like air against Max Richter’s piano adage.
Sometimes, though you can’t help but wish the House would let his ideas fly rather than hitching a fraction of them however jaw-droppingly. As Fall presented a slew of dependably elevated essentials, SS25 now encompasses full ready-to-wear offerings that border on the multifaceted edge of couture.
This season brought, in many ways, a varied distillation of the elements that make the House’s key staples so popular – tuning up Spring’s femininity minus an in-your-face lexicon. Indeed, the clothes were as breezy as they’ve been in any recent season, and they epitomised the kind of pieces that will mix easily alongside their heavier counterparts.
Blending movement and lightness through asymmetrical details had a winningly louche effect, with a pared-back feel in sight. “It’s really about the Fendi woman in 100 years of different generations of very chic, grown-up characters,” offered Fendi’s Kim Jones backstage. “I love the beginning and the end [of the lineup],” he continues, explaining how “it was really about where Fendi started in the 1920s, and I wanted to tinge from that point of the House’s history”.
Jones’ terrific louche separates beg to be slung low off the shoulder (as in fashion’s current yen) and worn with fuss-free, cool styles achieved with the highest crafty details. Embroideries were supremely made and placed on archetypal forms. On moving onto different territory, Jones remains firmly in place about what is next for the brand. “That goes on and on, it’s always a constant thing you know as each collection feeds into the next.”
With all this premium put on functionality and ease, Jones might be remiss not to continue the exploration of the wear and sensitivity his lady’s wardrobe is accustomed to having. Function is a theme the designer flirted with in the past, and here he conjured it up with a dream-like prettiness, evident in elongated gowns constructed to a convincing maturity.
And despite the nods to timelessness seen over the past few seasons, the takeaway here was clear: these are beautiful clothes to get down and in love with – bound to thrill an elegant heroine through poise and grace.
by Chidozie Obasi