Two Tales of One City
Fendi feat. Raf Simons
For some reason, I frequently confuse Fendi and Prada. Maybe it’s because their adds are typically featured back-to-back in the pages of Vogue. Maybe because they are both heritage Milanese maisons. But they also have something else in common….both reigning monarchs have recently selected co-creative directors that are changing the face of each brand.
I had never really notice Fendi before, until the collections in the past couple of years have begun to intrigue me. Of course, Silvia Venturini Fendi was the mastermind behind the iconic “Baguette” bag in 1997 that is still just as popular, if not more, today. Her grandparents, Edoardo and Adele, founded the brand in 1925 which was acquired by conglomerate LVMH in 2001. The legendary Karl Lagerfeld served as creative director from 1965 until his untimely demise in 2019. Fendi, already acting as menswear designer since 2000, inherited the role of creative director as well. In 2020 Kim Jones was named as artistic director of Fendis’ womens’ collection. Originally from Ecuador, Jones had already served as style director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear from 2011 to 2018, and from 2018 to present head of Dior Homme. A well-rounded individual, Jones’ first collection for Fendi was inspired by the creative utopia that was called the “Bloomsbury Group,” living in Sussex in the turn of the 20th century. Instead of music, Fendi’s SS 20221 show featured celebrities reading passages from Virginia Woolf’s “Othello,” a novel that was ahead of its time in championing gender fluidity. A year later Fendi gave us another sartorial flight of fancy, “A Tale of Three Cities: Kyoto, Rome, Paris.” It was around this time that I began to take closer notice of the brand. Pioneering the modern trend, this show featured dresses of sheer, even translucent fabric cut to cling to the body without restricting it, in fact this collection seemed to celebrate freedom in movement. The homage to Kyoto came in the use of fabric and technique historically used to make kimono’s, here reinterpreted as evening gowns. The nod to Italy came in the form of tailored looks cut from leather, such as the corset-inspired top I referenced in an earlier piece.
Now, back to Prada. Miuccia Prada, arguably the worlds highest net-worth woman, took over the house from her grandfather in 1978. In 1988, at the behest of her husband and now co-CEO, Prada expanded from luggage and accessories to clothing, quickly followed but the launch of the Miu Miu brand in 1992. Raf Simons, originating from northern Belgium (aka Flanders), joined Miuccia as co-creative director in 2020. An alum of Jil Sander, Dior, and Calvin Klein, Simons was forced to present his inaugural collection for Prada via video due to the Pandemic. Their first IRL show together debuted in SS 2021, another I remember vividly, notable for the sweaters (and other attire) with “holes” cut out, and an ad campaign that featured questions printed over the top of the images. Very intriguing, to be sure. The SS 2022 collection entitled “seduction, stripped down” was intended to re-examine what it means to be feminine, to be sexy, to be sensual. Staged simultaneously in Milan and Shanghai, looks ranged from all-black with leather jackets, to pink silk miniskirts with a train attached at the back. Minidresses in knit fabrics, with the triangle-shaped Prada logo on the side, reminds me of a modernized StarTrek uniform.
So there you have it. I find it striking that two Italian powerhouse fashion brands, both run by granddaughters of their respective founders, have at almost the same moment chosen to invite a co-creative director. Personally I find this to be a very smart decision, as the fresh perspective should help to maintain both brands’ relevancy in a competitive space. Whichever brand, designer, or collection you prefer, you can rest assured that Jones and Simons are going to take Fendi and Prada, respectively, to new places.
