Silvia Venturini Fendi’s Fall/Winter 2024 menswear is a bold departure from nostalgia, weaving a tapestry of classic British countryside influences with a distinctly modern edge. It’s a reimagining of town and country, where tartans are reinvented in dense, engineered textures and fisherman coats shed their utilitarian skin to become works of avant-garde fur art.
“There were no references,” Venturini Fendi explains backstage, her voice laced with the quiet confidence of a designer marching to her own drum. “It’s a continuous flow. I work on functionality and great classics, constantly reviewing and revisiting them.” This season’s “great classics” get a Fendi twist, with traditional loden juxtaposed with a needle-punched shearling version, and suede transformed into velvety corduroy. A cocoon coat in shredded washed denim and fringed mohair becomes a luxurious fur-like statement piece.
But Fendi Fall/Winter 2024 isn’t just about material alchemy. It’s about attitude, that ineffable quality Venturini Fendi finds in the likes of Anne, Princess Royal. “She’s a confident woman whose elegance is dignified and unfussy,” the designer muses. “I think she’s divine.” And it’s this attitude of liberation, unfettered by rigid definitions, that pervades the collection. “A collection is a collection, period,” Venturini Fendi is adamant, rejecting any attempt to pigeonhole her work.
Do you use Google News? You can follow your favorite media. Follow Fashionotography on Google News, by RSS or on Flipboard.
The result? A collection that’s both familiar and fresh. Balmoral tweeds get a high-tech upgrade, kilts are reimagined as roomy pleated Bermudas and wax jackets are cut with generous proportions, perfect for layering over side-pleated trousers and hiking socks. Wellington boots stomp confidently alongside the models, while a cool electronic soundtrack by Nico Vascellari and DJ Rocco Rampino pulsates through the austere concrete box that serves as the show’s venue.
Fendi Fall/Winter 2024 menswear is a masterclass in reinvention. It takes the timeless codes of British country style and injects them with a futuristic edge, creating a collection that’s at once functional and avant-garde, luxurious and playful. Venturini Fendi has once again proven that when it comes to menswear, the future is female and it’s full of attitude.
Read more: Longines Master Collection GMT: Where timeless elegance meets global horizons
©Photo: Fendi
