Luxury house Fendi unveiled its Fall Winter 2024.25 campaign featuring models Anok Yai, Lina Zhang, Luiza Perote, and Vittoria Ceretti lensed by fashion photographer Steven Meisel. In charge of art direction was Ronnie Cooke-Newhouse, with styling from Olivier Rizzo, set design by Mary Howard, and casting direction by Shelley Durkan. Beauty is work of hair stylist Guido Palau, and makeup artist Pat McGrath.
Kim Jones, Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear at Fendi, explores the archives for the Autumn Winter 2024.25 collection, drawing inspiration from 1984. The sketches transported him to the vibrant London scene of the Blitz Kids and the New Romantics, where British subcultures intersected with global influences. This era’s nonchalant elegance resonates with Roman style, both embodying a utilitarian yet extravagant ethos.
The collection features a blend of simplicity and theatrics, reflecting a transition from salon to street and town to country. It’s designed for women who are active and engaged, emphasizing functionality with a touch of fun. The collection celebrates luxury through comfort and confidence, encouraging self-expression.
Jones starts with the rigour of tailoring, infusing a feminine sensibility into the austerity of sinuous lines, creating rounded silhouettes with rich, compact wools. Layered wool coats, casually tied and belted, evoke the language of robes, while knitwear ranges from sleek, layered silk ribs to homespun styles like the Aran and Guernsey. Utilitarian dresses merge practicality with elegance, enhanced by tulle and organza transparencies featuring Roman statuary prints or embroidered dots. Shearlings and leathers range from high-shine waxed finishes to unique Agugliato needle-punched techniques and intricate intarsia expressions.
Fendi’s heritage is a prominent theme, with recurring codes and motifs tying the present to the past. As the house approaches its centenary in 2025, the Selleria motif, inspired by Roman saddlers, features prominently. Leather riding boots, adorned with the Selleria stitching, and the Chupa Chups® lollipop holder, now wrapped in FF, highlight this connection. Delfina Delettrez Fendi’s jewelry designs incorporate metal thread hardware stitched through statement leather bangles and giant leather and metal chains, echoing the Selleria’s legacy.
Silvia Venturini Fendi, Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear, deconstructs and revitalizes past styles in her bag designs. The new versions of Peekaboo, Baguette, and By The Way bags, crafted from sumptuous leathers in rich, natural colors, embrace tactility and utility. The collection also introduces the Simply FENDI, a soft satchel, and the Roll bag, a rounded shopper. These bags, worn in multiples and held in various ways, reflect the diverse Fendi woman, encouraging individuality and personal choice.
