Can luxury be trippy? It certainly was on Wednesday when Silvia Venturini Fendi paraded a colorful, crafty and occasionally kooky Fendi collection that mingled psychedelic florals, activewear details and the ’90s cool gathering steam in Milan. Oh, and there were fluffy charms modeled after fried eggs — the second egg spotting so far this week. (On Tuesday, Diesel displayed its collection in transparent, egg-shaped pods.)
Japanese designer Chitose Abe of Sacai has forged a glorious fashion career out of hybrid garments: part wardrobe classics, part outdoor performance gear. Now Venturini Fendi has invited elastic drawstrings, adjustable straps and the cinched hems and zippers of windbreakers into her posh, ladylike fashion universe, yielding a sporty-minded collection that should land in stores around the time of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortino.
“I wanted to elevate the everyday,” the designer said backstage, pointing out that all her track jackets are made of silk faille, and teamed with matching pencil skirts for a new take on the luncheon suit, while anoraks and windbreakers came in perforated, laser-cut leather.
Fendi has long played with stealth luxury, which Venturini Fendi took to a new zenith this season, putting lavish embroideries, including sequin ones, inside her Peekaboo bags. “Something that is like a private luxury,” she opined.
What she has most certainly left behind is quiet luxury, drowning it out with punchy colors in multiple shades, printed lace, floral cutouts and oodles of eye-catching accessories, including furry mesh men’s loafers and the new Collier handbag that incorporates a chunky necklace.
Models stalked a vast pixelated and undulating set devised by Marc Newson, adding to the visual cacophony.
Attending VICs perched themselves on the colorful cubes, cradling their Fendi bags in precious skins and comparing bag charms, which Fendi pioneered with monsters in real fur long before Labubu came onto the scene.
With its plush textures, joyful colors and playful details, this collection is bound to be influential, too.