Maria Grazia Chiuri doesn’t leave much for interpretation; she usually spells it out. Perhaps the instinct is a byproduct of a career that’s lasted over 35 years. Maybe it’s a sign of all she still has to say. For her Fendi debut, the Italian designer again doesn’t mince her words.
The collection marks a homecoming for the Rome native. Chiuri started her career at Fendi at just 24, going on to assist in creating the omnirelevant Baguette. Unsurprisingly, these were peppered throughout the show. With a longer strap than in its original proportions, Fendi’s most recognisable bag was carried in hand rather than hung on the shoulder. From reinterpretations of colourful classics – like the Bradshawian watermelon Baguette – to iterations that clashed animal patterns with floral embroidery, the bags were the brightest-hued moments in a collection that leaned into a darker and neutral palette.
Even if the sombre direction was a bit of a departure for a house whose logo stands for Fun Fur, it wasn’t exactly unexpected. Days before the show, Chiuri teased her vision of the brand through a close-up of a man’s hands holding a model’s ankles. The image, a recreation of a photograph taken by Jo Ann Callis and reinterpreted by the artist herself, revealed a sexier tone. Chiuri didn’t fulfil her erotic promise with a heavy hand, choosing instead to edge us with leather and lace details on long dresses and sheer shirts. Fur chokers that emulated the look of a traditional collar were both ingenious and titillating – shout out to the furries!
Chiuri knows the job she was hired to do, mixing “fun fur” options with solidly classic pieces. Camo cropped jackets with fur patches of different lengths, ’70s-inspired patchwork coats, and fur-lined trenches were matched with jeans and white shirts. In a way, the collection felt familiar. Chiuri classics came in romantic skirts and impeccably cut shirts. Her decade-long tenure at Dior ended only eight months ago, and, much like the tradition she set at the French maison, the designer collaborated with two female artists. First, for the jewellery, a collaboration with the Italian sculptor Mirella Bentivoglio, and secondly, with the artist SAGG Napoli for T-shirts and football scarves that featured words like “Impact.”
The feminist ethos wasn’t only seen in tees and necklaces, but propelled the collection – and its name, for that matter – around the theme “Less I, More Us.” The idea was executed with consecutive looks that remained identical between male and female models. Thirty-seven years in, Chiuri has as much to say as the day she started.
Words by Pedro Vasconcelos
