If you were to summarise the last year of fashion in two succinct phrases it would be these: sex and Y2K. At his fall winter 2022 collection for Fendi, Kim Jones showed both, though with a masterful level of restraint that places him firmly in the top tier of designers working today. As anyone who indulged in their millionth re-watch of Sex and the City during lockdown can attest, Fendi was front and centre of Noughties high fashion the first time around (eagle-eyed fans noticed that Carrie Bradshaw’s eggplant paillette-embellished Baguette bag made a reappearance in And Just Like That…, despite having been stolen in a mugging during the original series). This leaves the brand perfectly poised to lead the charge on re-imagined silhouettes from that era. 

For FW ‘22, that meant Bella Hadid opening the show in a brilliant sheer chiffon slip dress, paired with a shrunken woolly bomber jacket and tinted oval-shaped sunglasses. Elsewhere we saw lightweight separates, corset tops with asymmetrical cuts, woollen elbow-length gloves (Covid safety meets Italian drama), and sharp tailored suiting, some cropped, some with raised lapels or a crossbody button detail. In his show notes, Jones revealed he was inspired by Delfina Delettrez, the fourth-generation Fendi heiress and the brand’s artistic director of jewellery, when designing the collection. Delettrez walked into the office wearing an archive blouse from Karl Lagerfeld’s 1986 ‘Memphis’ collection—a piece borrowed from her mother Silvia Venturini Fendi’s personal collection. “I took it off her back and put it on the research rail,” Jones explained.

Fendi Fall Winter 2022
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Bella Hadid walks the runway at the Fendi fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022/2023 on February 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)

There was another archive reference too—namely to Lagerfeld’s spring 2000 Fendi show, with its chiffon bralettes layered under matching blouses, below-the-knee pencil skirts, and soft palette of pistachios, blush pinks, and chocolate browns. “These are collections which, although they come from the past, feel very now,” said Jones. “What emerges is a diametric exploration of strength and softness — a runway of powerful women in beautiful clothes.” Those much-revered Fendi women brought their own impeccable sense of newness to FW ‘22 too. Delettrez’s jewellery included large architectural earcuffs in the shape of the Fendi ‘F’, dramatic drop earrings, and tennis bracelets inset with baguette crystals with interlocking ‘F’ motifs. Her mother Silvia, the house’s artistic director of accessories and menswear collections, paid homage to the 25th anniversary of the Baguette bag with new interactions in cashmere, shearling-lined leather, and intarsia mink. Tiny renderings of the Baguette were turned into delicate charms that hung from corset shirting and tailored blazers. Elsewhere, the Fendi First bag and oversized shopper were reworked in fur.

Putting family first never looked so good. 

Fendi Fall Winter 2022
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: A model walks the runway at the Fendi fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022/2023 on February 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Victor Boyko/Getty Images)
Fendi Fall Winter 2022
MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 23: Vittoria Ceretti walks the runway at the Fendi fashion show during the Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2022/2023 on February 23, 2022 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage)