Kim Jones conjures up a celestial Roman fantasy on Fendi’s Paris runway: the British designer played with heavenly themes – and cut down on fur – in his spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection
- Fendi has been scaling down on its use of fur since the death of Karl Lagerfeld, using it on only five looks this season; it’s not zero, but it’s an improvement
- On the last day of Paris Haute Couture Week, Jones presented a collection drawing inspiration from Rome’s ancient past but bringing the Eternal City into an imaginary, sci-fi future
The name Kim Jones dominated Paris fashion for a second week running as the indefatigable Briton who designs for Dior Men’s returned to the runway for his latest couture collection for Fendi.
Fendi’s Rome
Fragments of architecture, incandescently lit, were suspended on a dark runway inside the neoclassical Palais Brongniart. Above it, adding to the drama hovered a giant orb of white light. This was, Jones said, the realm of “the celestial Rome” – reinterpreted by his irreverent eye.
This season’s inspiration seemed, at first, mundane enough: Jones’ walk to work at the Fendi atelier in Rome, where he passes by historic monuments only to arrive in a contemporary environment. Yet, the designs explored a juxtaposition between his commute’s “statuesque marbles” and its “ecclesiastical aesthetics” with another futuristic, very sensual vision.
Models walked out to a flash of a strobe light, in a slick effect suggesting they had just been produced by some heavenly seamstress.
The designs were equally slick. A shimmering black gown with polo neck and cap evoked a priest’s cassock – with the model holding a beaded cord. The skirt was slit, her leg exposed and her head cocked downward provocatively.
