Fendi Men’s Fall 2023
Watching Fendi’s fall men’s show, with its twisting aerial tracks above the runway transporting silvery pinball-machine orbs in a mesmerizing display, it was difficult to take one’s eye off the ball.
Attention back on the clothes, it was equally hard not to make a quick mental tally of what each outfit must cost, considering the sumptuous components: hand-painted, antique-finish leather coats and shearling jackets; long puffer jackets in plongé leather; handwoven cashmere totes stuffed with cashmere blankets, and crocodile boots with Cuban heels.
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Good luck getting dressed for less than five figures.
Here was one of the most overtly luxurious collections in Milan, plush in texture, and enveloping in its generous proportions and multiple layers of the finest fabrics.
Silvia Venturini Fendi also layered on a disco theme for the presentation, expressed via a throbbing, bespoke soundtrack by Giorgio Moroder, more eyeliner than Adam Ant ever wore, and evening looks spangled with enough silver to create a dazzling light display.
There’s a personal backstory to the theme: When she was living in New York in the ’80s and working at Bergdorf Goodman, Venturini Fendi used to wear a one-shouldered top under her “normal” clothes so she would be ready for a shimmy at Studio 54 after work — or a spin at the Roxy, then a roller rink.
The designer reprised those one-shouldered styles for men as sexy sweaters — or an offbeat striped dress shirt that offers a nip slip with every step.
Fendi’s slender young models sometimes looked overwhelmed by their long layers of luxury, double-faced cashmere blanket coats and loose sweaters often sprouting extra swags of fabric to wrap around the body, like the pashmina brigade of yore.
But break down the collection and there were solid investment pieces in sober, classic colors like gray, oatmeal, navy and black.
“Almost everything is reversible,” Venturini Fendi noted backstage, also talking up the cozy nature of the fabrics, irresistible to the touch. “Clothes that make you feel good,” she said. “It can be healing in way, too.”
On the way out, the Moroder soundtrack kicked up a notch, and Donna Summer was feeling love.
Launch Gallery: Fendi Men's Fall 2023
