The new formal. That’s been the consensus throughout the menswear shows here in Milan this weekend. Arrivederci, tailoring tied to the past. Dressing smart has new meaning.
Just take a look at Silvia Venturini Fendi, who describes her latest Fendi men’s collection as a “treasure trove of future heirlooms”. The look, she says, is “neo-dandy”, classism firmly for the now. This season’s designs flirt with sartorial shapes and codes, like relaxed parkas made of checked tweed, or outwear cut with womanly necklines.
Ushering in a new admiration for tech, Fendi teamed up with Ledger Nano X, a leading digital hardware wallet for cryptocurrency and digital assets, transforming the Baguette design – also now available in metal and plexiglass – into a luxury tech accessory. (Are Fendi NFTs next?) The same goes for the brand’s new O’Lock motif, a 3D pearl and diamond digital print which meets Fendi’s signature double F print as a new monogram – rendered in cable knits and seen across shirting, coats and bags.
The new roaring twenties demands formal garb with sensual flair. Fendi’s answer is raspberry leather shorts worn with sheer socks and mary janes, blazers sliced above the waist and knitted shirts and dresses with keyhole cut-outs. An assured infusion of womenswear is what makes this collection shine, particularly across trademark suit jackets, now worn with floor-length skirts instead of trousers.
A procession of tailcoats and suit jackets with soft shoulders and portrait necklines closed the show, proving both romantic and subversive in the same breath. Elegant dressing just got a facelift.
Photography courtesy of Fendi.
