FENDI DEBUTS SPRING/SUMMER 2022 MEN’S COLLECTION WITH SHORT FILM
Fendi unveiled its new men’s spring/summer 2022 collection on Saturday with a short film as part of Milan Fashion Week Men’s. Directed by Nico Vascellari, the collection film is a majestic ode to the Roman landscape with an homage to the tropes of early science fiction cinema.
Mapping the parameters of Fendi’s headquarters inside the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, models reveal the building’s Rationalist architecture in precise twists and turns as day fades into night and the brand’s main atelier comes to life in a spectacular pulsing light show.
Reflections on watching the world from above have inspired the luxury Italian brand’s new men’s spring/summer 2022 collection, a rich interplay of lightness and ease with a laser-sharp focus on the future of luxury.
“How you see things – and from where you see them – has never been more important,” said Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of Fendi accessories and menswear. “Our singular point of view in this period has modified our perception of the world – and mine has become so linked to what I see from the arches and the rooftop of our building. It is almost like a bird’s eye view of Rome from here. The colours and the perspective are always changing – the soft palette of the Roman sky across the day is so beautiful and I wanted it to be a focal point of this collection.”
A subtle palette echoes spring flowers and the transient skies in pastel shots of lemon and lime, ice blue, lavender, pistachio, and peony against mineral shades of travertine, chalk, graphite, and slate. The immediate surroundings of the Roman locale inform prints, shapes, and workmanship, in an effortless study of proportions and scale. Plucked from the Fendi archives, an illustrated map of Rome becomes Fendi Land, a cartographic drawing of the city where the Palazzo Fendi springs up at its center and the Tiber river flows through a labyrinth of buildings and streets adorned here and there with freehand FF logos. In a harmonious suite of topographic simulations entitled Fendi Earth, abstract contoured motifs float across linen silk suiting, jacquard denim, plush crochet tees, and intarsia shearling.
The conceptual distortion of scale creates new tailoring volumes, as hybrid summer suiting combines a multitude of materials, shapes, and utility details. Abbreviated wool jackets are cropped at the torso or split with nylon organza and peak lapel linen blazers are fitted with pen pockets and Airpods compartments. Pockets drop beneath hemlines and jackets unbutton down the hips, whilst below the waist multi-pocket city shorts define the silhouette alongside straight trousers split at the ankle or paneled in a binary of double cotton and suede.
New outerwear exhibits the prowess of the brand’s leather atelier, with vented trench coats, roomy windcheaters, and overshirts punctuated by Selleria stitching and embossed detailing on reversible suede, calfskin, and sustainable garment-dyed cotton. Shirting in crisp poplin or light woven cashmere features fabric buttons for an all-over monochrome tonality broken elsewhere by a series of collaged fabrications featuring mismatched jacquard collars and striped cotton sleeves. Knits follow the engineered contours of the Fendi Earth motifs in featherweight cashmere intarsia ensembles alongside zipped two-tone double cashmere and polo tops in ribbed or crochet cotton. Mock neck pullovers and tees in crochet mink scoop up in the front, exposing utility belts strung with Fendi loop charms.
The new men’s accessories collection is a playful escape from reality, subverting everyday objects. Swimming goggles and swimming caps in collaboration with Arena join ping-pong racket bags as ironic summer essentials, and the Baguette is shrunk as a jewelry pouch on a fine waist chain. The Peekaboo appears in matte nylon, finished with burnished edges or Selleria macro stitches, while the Baguette returns as a roomy messenger or clutch. New luggage shapes in canvas and printed FF logo mesh feature a bonded convex profile for a ‘fisheye’ effect, and the new Fendiness utility buckle appears on a series of nylon webbing backpacks and crossbody styles.
Evolving from the molded Fendi Flow sneaker, buckled sandal styles join a monochrome slip-on knit sneaker with injected appliqué details in a pastel palette. Soft suede desert boots with FF logo buckles expound upon the season’s outdoor inspirations alongside flatform wicker double strap sandals finished in plush details or Selleria stitching.
Watch the full short film below.