How Fendi got East-West fusion right at Paris Fashion Week: Kim Jones’ autumn/winter 2022-23 haute couture collection made style stops in Kyoto, Paris and Rome – tastefully

Jul 8 , 2022

Models line up in creations from Fendi’s haute couture autumn/winter 2022-2023 fashion collection, presented at Paris Fashion Week on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Photo: AP

Bond star Lashana Lynch and K-drama star Song Hye-kyo were in the audience for a show that saw designer Kim Jones symbolically ‘step away from Rome’

Kimono fabric from 18th century Kyoto and tulle gowns with Japanese maple leaves abandoned the brand’s Italian heritage to embrace a bold but tasteful global aesthetic

Fendi’s ultra-white, sanitised runway for once put the couture, not the decor, in the spotlight to cap Paris Fashion Week.

Designer Kim Jones presented Fendi’s autumn/winter 2022-23 haute couture collection at Paris Fashion Week. Photo: Xinhua

Fendi’s autumn/winter 2022-23 haute couture collection was unveiled at Paris Fashion Week. Photo: Xinhua

That allowed guests, including Bond star Lashana Lynch and Korean actress (and style icon) Song Hye-kyo, to take in every bead, paillette and spliced panelling that went behind this impressive fall display.

The Italian house’s designer Kim Jones wanted to “step away from Rome” with creations that drifted between different eras, cities, memories and cultures, beginning in Japan.

Fendi’s autumn/winter 2022-23 haute couture collection was unveiled at Paris Fashion Week. Photo: AFP

“We are looking at fragments of different cities, namely Kyoto, Paris and Rome,” said Jones after the show, on Thursday. “The fragmentary nature of things is echoed throughout … like snatches of memory.”