For the past year and a half, most luxury fashion houses around the world have had their eyes set on escapism, creating fun and fantastical collections designed to spark joy and evoke happiness. Summer lends itself particularly well to that notion, with the warm season allowing for brighter or more pastel colour palettes and shorter silhouettes. For Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of Fendi accessories and menswear, inspiration came in the form of the Roman landscape, with the Fendi Men’s SS22 taking place inside the Fendi headquarters in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome.
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“How you see things – and from where you see them – has never been more important,” said Fendi. “Our singular point of view in this period has modified our perception of the world – and mine has become so linked to what I see from the arches and the rooftop of our building. It is almost like a bird’s eye view of Rome from here. The colours and the perspective are always changing – the soft palette of the Roman sky across the day is so beautiful and I wanted it to be a focal point of this collection.”
Echoing spring flora and the ever-changing skies, the colour palette intersperses pastel hues of lemon, lime, ice blue, lavender, pistachio, and peony against the mineral shades of chalk, graphite, slate, and travertine. A distinct pattern – borrows from the Fendi archive, co-opting an illustrated map of Rome which places Fendi at its heart.
While loosening formalwear codes is a common way for houses to adapt to the warmer weather, Fendi opted to simply hack them in half. Summer tailoring took shape with wool jackets cropped to reveal torsos, or split in the middle with nylon organza; lightweight peak lapel linen blazers equipped with pen pockets and earpod compartments resting on the lapel; and visible pockets dropping beneath hemlines. As for the lower half, shorts came into play for many looks, either matching their top halves or standing out with utility-style pockets, while straight trousers subtly complemented looks.
The Fendi Men’s SS22 accessories collection demonstrated a playful escape from reality, subverting everyday objects by imbuing them with the Fendi touch. Swimming caps and goggles created in collaboration with ARENA join table tennis racquet bags as summer carry, the Baguette gets shrunken down to miniature form and worn on delicate necklaces and waist chains, and the Peekaboo is crafted from matte nylon for a summery iteration of its leather counterpart.
For Venturini Fendi, it seems the future is bare, but not bleak.
Words by Theo Rosen
