Kim Jones Soars To New Heights With Fendi’s Spring/Summer 2022 Haute Couture Collection

Kim Jones weaves together the classical and the fantastical with his latest Fendi haute couture confections.

By Jeffrey Yan - published 2 Jun 2022

Kim Jones made his name as one of the greatest menswear designers of our time, but his appointment to the top spot at Fendi has also proven that he is equally formidable in the realm of womenswear. As the Artistic Director of Women’s collections at the storied Roman house, Jones was also given the keys to the highest echelon in fashion—haute couture—and in just a few short seasons, he has carved out a space of his own and established Fendi as a major couture player. The spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection is Jones’s first to be staged in front of a physical audience and it crystallises his vision for the House—a fine balancing act between old-world elegance and modern ease, unified by a commitment to craft.

With the collection, Jones demonstrates both his expansive view of femininity and his understanding of classical beauty. He is not one to break the wheel and disrupt for disruption’s sake; instead, Jones gently builds on the 54-year legacy that Karl Lagerfeld left behind. The late designer will be remembered for the many profound ways he shaped contemporary fashion, but his impact extended far beyond just a silhouette, logo or hit bag—Lagerfeld proved that luxury and levity are not mutually exclusive. It is a lesson that Jones has fully absorbed and played here to his full advantage. A single Fendi haute couture dress might have taken thousands of hours of work, but when the model wearing it glides down the runway, the effect is of effortlessness.

Fendi's spring/summer 2022 haute couture behind the scenes — Behind the scenes of Fendi's spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection (Photo: Robert Fairer/Fendi)
Fendi Couture SS22 Paris Kim Jones ©Robert Fairer

Through it all, the House’s Roman heritage remains front and centre—permeating every aspect of Jones’s couture output. Like the Eternal City itself, Jones’s collection collapses time—antiquity coexisting in harmony with modernity; one impossible without the other. “When you walk down the street in Rome, you’re constantly moving back and forth in time. There’s a total timelessness to the city—a historic vein that runs through it, but also a movement that is projecting forward,” says Jones on how the city affects his design approach. That timeless quality is certainly present in his gowns—they would look equally at home on an ancient Roman queen as they would on a mid-century society swan or the Met Gala red carpet today. The architecture and ancient history of Rome might have informed Jones’s silhouettes and surface treatments, but he wields his influences with a light, deft hand—tempering opulence with an alluring sense of restraint. The collection is filled with other such delicious paradoxes—the majestic and the monastic side by side; the sculptural giving way to softness; the paganistic juxtaposed against the futuristic.

With a couture atelier at his command, Jones soars to new heights of craftsmanship. The statues outside the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the Fendi headquarters, were hand-painted onto sheared mink and velvets in shadowy chiaroscuro; leathers were heat-moulded and decorated with micro sequins, furs and pearls; trompe l’oeil was employed to mind-bending effect with opulent fabrics photographed, distorted and printed onto duchesse silk and organza, before being overlaid with beading and mother-of-pearl embellishments. Some looks were peeled and stripped away to reveal their underpinnings—underscoring the impeccable construction that can only be achieved with the handmade. Crystal geodes, clusters of amethyst, and volcanic stone lend a talismanic, primal appeal to the more austere pieces. Haute couture in the age of mass production and instant gratification can often seem like an oxymoron—with this collection, Jones proves that there will always be a place for pure, unadulterated beauty.

Photographed by Gan
Styled by Windy Aulia
Model: Shu Qi/ Mannequin
Makeup: Nigel Stanislaus using Dior
Hair: Colin Yeo and Dorene Low/Tress & Curvy using Wella
Stylist’s assistant: Gracia Phang

Gan

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Duchesse satin, faille and moire dress; full metal ultra black ruthenium necklace; matching ring; satin and goat leather platform heels, all from Fendi.