Fendi: «Fashion is ready to change»

What did the pandemic promise to bring? «A lot of rigor, the repositioning of the scale of values. I think this is something absolutely necessary, the times are maturing, and this has to happen», Silvia Venturini Fendi, who creatively guides accessories and menswear of the double-F maison, said. She gives a 360-degree look at the fashion world and what is happening, just in the days of great changes in the maisons, but also where the fashion world is contaminating with other disciplines. For example, Design Miami/, the event that has become a nerve center for the universe of design and art, represents a reference point on which Fendi was among the first to bet.

This year, the collaboration of the Lvmh group maison, which also opened a Fendi casa store in the city, was with Vienna-based artist Lukas Gschwandtner, who proposed a triclinium-shaped composition formed by chaise longues and the integration of Pillow portraits.

The series harkens back to the history of ancient Rome, recalling female bodies reclining on seats from the period. «Can fashion be art?«, Lukas Gschwandtner himself asked MFF. «Yes, of course. It can be an object that you wear. You can push so much on fashion, and I always hope that people are encouraged to push their limits». Limits to overcome, changes in progress, as Silvia Venturini Fendi, present at Design Miami/ along with her daughter Delfina Delettrez Fendi, artistic director of the fashion house’s jewelry, reminded. «It is difficult today to be able to make predictions, because fashion is influenced by so many factors. You have to be able to be very flexible», Silvia Venturini Fendi explained to MFF in a special interview.

Is there a bit more of art this year at Design Miami/?

I think this is a very comprehensive project, definitely with a more artsy approach, but it is also a project that blends the two souls of what our engagement is here. For me, these triclinics are a kind of portable, wearable design, so there is this fusion between the garment and the furniture. In addition, it is also performative design, because depending on how you lean on the seats you can wear them in your own way, maybe as a bag or a coat.

Do fashion and design enter a new phase in this way?

What I like about this project is that it gives a different function to things, but they have a very common root, because that was what made us sincerely support these projects at Design Miami/. We realized that there could be an exchange, a dialogue. Along with Craft punk, this is one of the projects that most represents what this combination is.

What is it like to tackle these projects as a trio, you, Kim (Jones, Fendi womenswear artistic director) and Delfina?

The first project with Kim was last year, together with Peter Mabeo. It is interesting because we make shared choices, as in this case with Lukas. I have always liked confrontation, and Fendi is a brand where that has always happened spontaneously. First it was a family comparison, then it expanded with the adopted family, from Karl Lagerfeld to Kim.

The figure of women always comes back...

It is a constant, like the combination of Fendi and Rome. There are so many facets in our Dna that Lukas has been able to capture.

In this case, design goes with clothing. What is happening to fashion? Where are we going? Before, it was all logos while now...

It is difficult today to be able to make predictions because fashion is influenced by so many factors. You have to be able to modulate needs and be very flexible. Probably what did not happen after the pandemic will happen now, because we all made so many good resolutions. However, then we did not fulfill them. I really love logos, but the important thing is to have that and more. I think brands like ours, which have a logo that tells a story, should stay true to it.

What did the pandemic promise?

It promised a lot of rigor, the repositioning of the scale of values. I think this is something that is absolutely necessary. The times are maturing, and this has to happen.

Miuccia Prada with Raf Simons, or the long-awaited comeback of Phoebe Philo, you from the house of Fendi and Maria Grazia Chiuri. Why is there so much talk about women?

It is about time we talked about women. At our house it has always been talked about, it is not a topic I have ever missed, but maybe I have been privileged, because at Fendi it has always been a different land, a kind of «independent state». Right now, perhaps, it is talked about more by women because they themselves have been able to prove that, when they are good, they can be just as good as men, if not more so. Once this has been proven, once one shirks, one misses them more. Everyone misses Phoebe Philo, who was able to speak to women as perhaps a man cannot. She created a community that felt abandoned.

How important is it to keep this relationship with the brand community alive and how risky is it to cut it sharply?

People who buy your products become partners, so it is important to establish a dialogue and not betray them.

In your opinion, are we facing a new frontier in fashion? Is there something that needs to click?

To a person who can read the moment, it comes naturally to understand it. Personally, I listen to myself a lot. When I find myself saying, «I do not feel like anything», it means I feel like something.

What do you think about this hot fall of designers? Alessandro Michele leaving Gucci, Tom Ford selling the company, and then Raf Simons closing his line. Is it a difficult time for designers?

It is, but it is also about great freedom. You do not necessarily have to forever be pigeonholed into a role. In fact, contaminations now define the world we live in. A creative is often an all-around creative.

And what would you like to do in the future?

I often ask myself that, but right now I do not feel the urge to change. I am fulfilled by what I do and feel I still have a lot to say.

Around you, what triggers the famous «inspiration»?

I am very observant, I like to inform myself, to keep a connection with reality more than with fantasy. I draw a lot of inspiration from reality.

Is fashion today more reality- or fantasy-related?

It has to be a mix of the two. It has to be a fantasy that helps you live better. (All rights reserved)