Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2021: Kim Jones proposes a romantic vision of the Fendi woman

 

First Fendi Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2021 by Kim Jones.

The Haute Couture show presented at Palais Brongniart in Paris, marked Kim Jones‘ debut for Fendi. Named Artistic Director of Women’s collections of the Roman house last September, the British designer is also head of Dior Men. Kim Jones was deeply inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf and the timeless Italian codes.

For his first haute couture show for Fendi, Kim Jones surrounded himself with longtime friends including Demi Moore, Kate Moss and her daughter Lila, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Cara Delevingne. They took to the runway alongside androgynous models with carmine lips wearing long flowing capes to the sound of Max Richter’s soundtrack.

A multi-layered spectacle, inspired by pioneering literary icons and four generations of Fendi women.

Virginia Woolf’s words infuse the new Fendi Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2021 collection, from love letters written by Virginia Woolf to her lover Vita Sackville-West, to her novel Orlando, inscribed on mother of pearl minaudières or leather boots. The set for the show also referenced the author in a glass labyrinth decorated with bookcases to create intimate “rooms of their own”.

In addition to literature, Kim Jones also found inspiration in the murals painted by Virginia Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell at Charlheston
Farmhouse, the regular meeting place of the Bloomsbury group to which they belonged. Her decorative motifs are embroidered on gowns. Another key theme of the collection is marble, mirrored on an imperial gown worn by Naomi Campbell. The marble palette is a tribute to the Galleria Borghese in Italy, a country adored by the Bloomsbury group, and above all the native land of the Fendi family.

Kim Jones’ maiden haute couture collection also paid tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, who shared his love of literature and was his predecessor at Fendi for over 50 years.

Fendi jewelry designer Delfina Delettrez Fendi also walked the runway. She wore the Fendi Couture Spring Summer 2021 blush pink silk cady gown with woven macramé elements, hand-embroidered with tonal pearls. The beads adorning Cara Delevingne’s rose and gray marbled suit were applied by Fendi embroidery artisans, resulting in a mesmerizing display of traditional handwork. Skilfully crafted from Murano glass, the spectacular chandelier earrings and ear cuffs added a striking artistic element to the show. The metal and organza pochette and satin boots, embroidered with glass pearls, completed Lila Moss’ Fendi Couture look.