It was a not-so normal working day for Fendi’s artisans, whose factory-floor, buried in the Tuscan hills 30 minutes outside of Florence, became the catwalk for Silvia Venturini Fendi’s SS24 collection. Decamping from Milan for a special, one-off show as part of Pitti Uomo, the Italian house welcomed the fash pack inside its newly-opened accessories plant in Capannuccia, a place the designer dubs “the pulsing heart of Fendi, a place symbolic of creation, where development, innovation, craftsmanship training and production are reunited under the same roof.” Formally used to make bricks, the 14,000 sq m space – designed to blend into its surroundings with its terracotta exterior and a leafy roof-top garden – has been transformed into a luxe working hub where Fendi’s hi-end bags are all produced by hand.
Fendi’s staffers laser-etched leather and hammered away at what would soon become the next batch of Peekaboos and Baguettes, as Venturini Fendi celebrated the craft-first approach of her family’s business with elevated, utilitarian-inspired togs (her grandmother, Adele Fendi, trained in leather craftsmanship in Florence nearly 100 years ago). The designer smartened up traditional elements of a working man’s wardrobe: kitted out utility belts became leather mini-skirts worn over short-shorts and slacks, and nicely done office shirts and car coats came with incisions designed to house a measuring tape. Nifty, no?
Models carried lavish briefcases, lunch box-inspired bags and Fendi-branded coffee cup holders as they wore on-the-money tailoring, top-stitched shorts and jackets, and silk shirts laden in a tool-kit print. One elongated shirt mimicked a toile; ivory in colour with pseudo penciled markings, whilst a recurring shoe silhouette (part clog, part sneaker, with a swivel heel strap and molded sole) was fit for a day’s graft.
Throughout, Venturini Fendi provided a sensual spin on men’s classics. Ribbed knitted polos clung to the body with sensual cut outs at the waist; crocheted vests came fashioned from nettle fibre wool; and halterneck shirting, both sleeveless and backless, migrated into apron-style dresses.
For the show’s finale, Venturini Fendi’s team put down their tools and left their posts, joining the designer for a well-earned victory lap through the concrete workspace. Not bad for a Thursday afternoon at the office.
Photography courtesy of Fendi.
