Fendi Women’s Ready-To-Wear Spring/Summer 2022

For his second ready-to-wear show and first ever live show with Fendi, Artistic Director, Kim Jones ushers the glamour of disco down the runway with the SS 2022 collection.

The fashion designer Kim Jones showcased his first season back on the opening day of Milan Fashion Week with a disco-inspired runway. The fashion show conjured up glittering disco balls, writhing bodies and vibrating bass. Moreover, the event took place under archways reminiscent of the house’s Roman home, the Palazzo Della Civiltà and, between columns made of mirror, the scene was unmistakably Fendi, played to a disco beat. Fendi sent a Spring/Summer women’s collection with plenty of muted colours and chic trouser suits. The brand could also match the joyful mood of the disco era with a modern attitude to the designs down the catwalk.

The house described it as “a joyful exploration of Fendi’s signature irreverence, offering a modern perspective on disco-age glamour brimming with powerful, effortless femininity”. Experimenting with the traditional intarsia technique, Fendi created stunning graphic patterns and showcased a contemporary reinvention of the brand’s signature savoir-faire.

Kim Jones could perfectly and beautifully balance the signature Fendi style codes with a powerful vision of modernity. “Our woman has let loose a bit – she’s going out, dressing up. We’ve all been locked away for so long that’s what we all need right now,” Kim Jones said.

Jones’ inspiration for this seasons designs came from a sketch of the brand logo dug from the archives by fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez, a longtime friend and collaborator of the late Karl Lagerfeld. His creative work was present in the show. “He was a big, big fashion influencer for a lot of people, but is not so talked about,” Jones said of Lopez. “He had this relationship with Karl and with Fendi, and he helped shape so many strong visions of women because he loved them: that feels very authentic and topical.” Drawn from his archives, Jones reimagined Lopez’s work as exaggerated brushstrokes on kaftans and silk shirts, as well as taking his drawings and turning them into intarsia leather thigh-highs and intricately engineered lace. Lopez had worked with Lagerfeld on a Fendi logo, and Jones dug it up and reimagined it in a unique jacquard design. 

Silvia Venturini Fendi and her daughter, Delfina Delettrez Fendi took part in the event as the creative and artistic director of accessories and men’s wear collections for the show.