Fendi unveiled its SS24 collection on Thursday evening while showing guests its new factory in Capannuccia – around 40 minutes from Florence, home of this week’s Pitti Uomo menswear fair.
Various noises such as hammering, the hiss of a spray gun and the clatter of sewing machines mingled with the booming bass of a monotonous techno beat. It seemed like the workers, dressed in white coats, had to put in an ‘extra shift’. And that, under the observation of the visitors. The catwalk also ran through the aisles in which the Italian fashion house produces several models of its luxury bags.
craftsmanship in detail
Manufacturing seemed to have been the keyword of the collection. Workwear-related pieces ran through a large part. Leather aprons met details such as measuring tapes, tool belts and matching prints with work materials and a coat with a pattern print. There were also some useful details for the commute, such as a pocket that also serves as a holder for several coffee mugs.
But the Tuscan environment also found its place in the collection. One bag was reminiscent of tree bark and other pieces were decorated with floral embroidery that could have come directly from the surrounding flora. The color palette, which included green, brown and beige, also fitted into the Italian landscape.
Italian design and Japanese architecture
For the accessories of the current collection, Fendi worked together with the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who experiments with natural materials and interprets such typical Fendi products as the bag models Baguette Soft Trunk and Peekaboo for himself.
“Our partnership with Kengo Kuma creates not only a dialogue between Fendi and architecture, but also a conversation with another designer and his choice of art and culture materials,” Fendi said in a statement.
At the end of the show, the Fendi employees were also allowed to stop working and followed the menswear designer Silvia Venturini Fendi through the rows.
