July 10, 2026 |
Last night in Rome, Maria Grazia Chiuri presented her debut Fendi couture collection at Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea with a soft yet confident offering rooted in the body, giving value back to it as “living substance” and “desire”. That meant clothes designed to move rather than restrict – chiffon dresses floated with every step, satin skimmed the figure and sculptural drapery shaped the body without impeding boning or binding.
Chiuri is a romantic, and her Dior past was apparent in the soft draping and the airy transparency of the pieces, but she never strayed too far from the Fendi codes.
She listens to the body – what it needs, what it wants – and designs with those instincts in mind. Kimono-cut jackets and sweeping overcoats wrapped rather than constrained, while featherweight cloaks bloomed with leather petals, fuzzy butterflies and delicate arabesques.
In a largely muted palette of black, ivory and sand with sharp flashes of glistening gold, the collection was understated but felt rich in texture. There was a welcome ease to it all – the kind of clothes you might wear for a kiki on the beach with your lifelong gal pals, if those gal pals happened to have couture ateliers on speed dial.
A handful of menswear looks slotted naturally into the line-up, echoing the same fluid silhouettes and cocooning proportions. Throughout, chiffon and satin did the heavy lifting, their featherlight fabrics swishing with every step and proving that, in Chiuri’s hands, couture doesn’t need to shout to make an entrance.
Photography courtesy of Fendi.
