Kim Jones’ history-making turn as the creative director of Fendi womenswear was announced at the height of the pandemic, so it’s only in the last few months that audiences have been given the opportunity to see his pieces IRL. For the ready-to-wear collections, that meant a blow-out party to celebrate Fendi’s ‘Fendace’ collaboration with Versace. For haute couture spring summer ’22, it meant a refined salon-style show, set against an intergalactic backdrop that wouldn’t look out of place in a Dune sequel.
Speaking of Dune, Jones is the second designer to namecheck Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi novel, which Denis Villeneuve turned into a blockbuster hit starring Zendaya and Timothèe Chalamet last year, as a key reference on his new collection (Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli collection also featured nods to the book). Angular, deconstructed gowns were finished with black crystal embellishments, silk kaftan-style jumpsuits were reminiscent of the monastic robes favoured in the Star Wars universe, and trompe l’oeil velvet dresses printed with marble statues were a nod to Prometheus. Models’ faces were smattered with a constellation of hand-applied crystals, and given futuristic micro-fringes or oil-slick ponytails. A synthy soundtrack by the electronic muso Jon Hopkins only enhanced the cosmic feeling.
It should come as no surprise that designers are currently infatuated by the intergalactic. Jeff Bezos’ much-discussed trip to space sparked conversations about a ‘billionaire space race’, and so-called space tourism is looking like an increasing reality for the ultra-rich. Plus, with the ongoing fears of climate change and fact that our society is still very much in the midst of a global pandemic, you’d be forgiven for wondering what life might be like in a galaxy far, far away. Still, this is Kim Jones for Fendi, and existential questions about inter-planetary travel come second to the desire to craft beautiful pieces of clothing. Artfully cut gowns fall like liquid silk. Classic eveningwear is grunged up with chunky platform boots, spiky ear cuffs, and knuckle-duster rings (the latter two are the brainchild of Delfina Delettrez, the daughter of Silvia Venturini Fendi and the jewellery designer for Fendi womenswear). Rendered images of the buildings outside Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana—Fendi’s Roman headquarters—are hand painted onto dresses and capes.
There was something ethereal—spiritual, even—that felt palpable throughout the collection. Models stepped out onto the runway as if they were floating through heaven’s gates. “An army of empresses whose divine purity is imbued with celestial power,” is how Jones put it in the show’s notes. He continued: “that’s what my vision for Fendi is all about, celebrating the power of women.” It was also a reminder that the practice of haute couture is somewhat sacred. A rarefied and increasingly rare art form, couture is about creating clothes that will outlive us—that will be worn, yes, but which will also sit in museum collections and become emblems of this time in history. Much like Rome, the city that inspires so much of Jones’ work for Fendi, their power is eternal.
