For Fall/Winter 2024, Fendi bridges tradition and modernity–blending the noble pursuits of the great outdoors with the audacious swagger of urban living
The Fendi Fall/Winter 2024 menswear collection has been a witness to the fashion’s evolving narrative. During Milan Fashion Week, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the creative mind behind the iconic Italian house, introduced a line that seamlessly blends the noble pursuits of the great outdoors with the swagger of urban living, redefining the essence of manhood in today’s world.
“With tradition and technology in constant dialogue, a masculine wardrobe born from necessity is nuanced with Roman decadence: from the Fendi ateliers, to the world,” proclaims the brand.
The reimagined masculine silhouettes graced the runway in the expansive halls of Fendi’s Italian headquarters, accentuated by an iconic ‘F’-shaped seating arrangement envisioned by the esteemed Italian artist, Nico Vascellari. Against the backdrop of this innovative setting, a notable gathering of celebrities, including luminaries such as James Franco, Jeremy Pope, and Aaron Piper, heightened the spectacle. The collection unfolded like a daring procession of fashion statements, captivating the audience with its audacious style and imaginative design.
Transcending the boundaries of conventional menswear, the collection’s heart lay in the pleated bottoms and skorts embodying the spirit of the Scottish kilt, a sartorial choice that marks a turning point in the acceptability of fluid fashion.
Elsewhere, embrace the allure of expansive silhouettes. The meticulous craftsmanship of Fendi’s outerwear, described as “generous” by its artistic director, fused functional and celebratory elements. Models are dressed in fisherman’s coats, bombers with shearling details bearing the symbolic ‘FF’ canvas, and peacoats engineered with shaved trompe l’oeil shearling piping and seams. Additionally, colour-blocked knitwear underpins tailoring with playful accents, from the lustre of heat-pressed cable knits to ribbed wrap cardigans and triple-layered hems or cuffs on polo sweaters and tanks.
Elevating the season’s rich material vocabulary, washed denim and mohair textures undergo intricate looping, shredding, and knitting techniques, resulting in a mimicry of fringed ‘furs.’ Plissé polished leather takes centre stage as it transforms into an extraordinary trench coat and bomber jacket. Meanwhile, glossy stain and lurex illuminate evening ensembles, accentuated by the dazzling flourish of crystal FF evening brooches designed by the artistic director of jewellery, Delfina Delettrez Fendi.
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Beyond ready-to-wear, Fendi’s accessory game was notably strong, with the debuts of the silken Siesta bag (that flattens like a pillow in striped quilting or shearling) and the polished Melon Hobo, as well as a reimagination of its iconic Peekaboo ISeeU Soft conceived in collaboration with MAD Architects’ founding partner Ma Tansong. Among the footwear, the collection put forth a slip-on ergonomic shoe and grain leather Wellington boots, etching the outline of the modern Fendi man.
With reimagined classics and the stirring resonance of a bespoke soundtrack by Nico Vascellari and Rocco Rampino, the Fendi Fall/Winter 2024 menswear runway has been more than a fashion statement. It has been an invitation to partake in a way of life where the principle of fashion is thrown out the window.