Review Of Fendi Men Spring/Summer 2022 Collection
Silvia Venturini Fendi espouses the lightness of being with pastel hues and playful cuts.
By Jeffrey Yan - published
Staged in the arcades and on the rooftop of Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, with the whole of Rome and its open skies as the background, Silvia Venturini Fendi’s latest collection was imbued with the feeling of openness and airiness with which she views the city from her high vantage point in the Fendi headquarters. From up there, lightness permeates the Eternal City.
Photo: Mattia Zoppellaro/Fendi
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That quality extends to both the collection’s colours and shapes. The former included a melange of fresh springtime hues—pistachio green, lemon yellow, ice blue, lilac, peony and lavender; neutrals were lifted from minerals like travertine, chalk and slate. The season’s prints drew from Venturini Fendi’s surroundings as well—what looked like graffiti or scribbles was actually lifted from a map of Rome found in the archives, now turned into a Fendi Land print; the Fendi Earth print was made from abstracted topographic motifs.
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But it was silhouette that Venturini Fendi was most interested in this season. The most notable result from her play on proportions was her new take on the crop top—sharp tailoring sliced with laser precision below the chest. Below, she paired them with short shorts—made new with the addition of cargo pockets, which she multiplied to such a degree that they looked like frills from afar. Baguettes were shrunk into little crossbody bags and eyewear cases, and in an irreverent stroke of genius, into belly chains that further emphasised all the cropped silhouettes and skin on show.
Photo: Fendi
Venturini Fendi being the House’s accessories director (in addition to its menswear), there was no shortage of covetable extras. The Baguettes made another appearance as clear Perspex clutches. Elsewhere, there were pouches for ping pong rackets—some standalone, and others attached to Peekaboos. There were floppy wide-brimmed hats and strappy pastel sandals with F-soles. And it wouldn’t be a Fendi collection without a whimsical collaboration—this time around, Venturini Fendi tapped Arena to accessorise some of the looks with swimming goggles and caps.
Photo: Fendi