Milan Fashion Week.
Milan Goes to the Movies:
The cinematic streak was strong in collections from Fendi, Marni and JIL SANDER.
With Fendi providing so much grist for the fashion rumour mill over the past few months, you would hardly blame Kim Jones for feeling less than celebratory about the brand’s centennial in 2025. But prince of pragmatism that he is, there can never be too much on his plate to deal with, so he blocked out the noise and came up with one of his best interpretations of Fendi yet. My favourite Fendi collections over the years have always had something cinematic about them, and that was the way this one played out, like a family saga flashing backward and forward between decades (I’m loving “Pachinko” on Apple TV+ for the same reason), from Adele starting her business in 1925 to her great-granddaughter Delfina creating the jewellery that has accessorised the collection since Jones took over as artistic director in 2020.
He calls Fendi his second family, and that affection showed in odd sentimental, even domestic, details: embroidered hashtagstockings that bagged round the ankles, dresses that looked like slips donned upside down, light-as-air housecoats.
I felt an oddly similar sensation while I was watching the Jil Sander show on Tuesday, how intelligence and idiosyncrasy can combine to create something that is visually alluring on a higher plane and sensually irresistible on a gut level.
