See the cast of Fendi’s A/W18 show, shot here by Donald Gjoka as part of an exclusive project
- TextTed Stansfield
The concorde may be dead, but air travel is still synonymous with luxury – and that was the premise that underlaid Fendi’s A/W18 collection.
Staged yesterday as part of Milan Men’s Fashion Week, the show took place in a mock arrivals hall – complete with a conveyor belt which juddered into motion as the show began, showing off a mix of vintage Fendi luggage from the house’s archive, new accessories and the occasional novelty piece such as a fur-clad baby carrier.
But who was on the plane? A group of young and diverse men cast by Piergiorgio Del Moro and photographed here by Donald Gjoka as part of an exclusive project.
These men modelled a collection designed for travel, and for comfort. But that didn’t mean tracksuit bottoms – quite the contrary. Silvia Ventura Fendi created a wardrobe that was comfortable, yes, but also elegant and above all, luxuriant. It featured beautiful leather and fur coats and jackets, easy, breezy lounge suits, striped shirts and intarsia sweatshirts, as well as rubber anoraks and glazed coats – all peppered with the brand’s recognisable FF logo and Pequin stripes.
There was a hint of the Dapper Dan amidst it all – in the proliferation of the brand’s logo, the cut of the coats and jackets, and the Kangol-esque bucket hats. And there was a sense of fun about it too, particularly in the mini umbrella hat and the prints which were created by a graphic artist of Instagram fame, @hey_reilly.
Born in Scotland and now based in London, Reilly came to the attention of Ventura Fendi after he posted one of his fashion logo mash-ups that combined the logos of Fendi and the Italian sportswear brand, Fila. The designer got in touch with him (apparently he thought he was going to get sued when he received the call) and asked him to collaborate. What he created was a collage of fabrics along with images of “celestial night skies, hammers, cartoon bananas, and even a racehorse’s behind”, which was used throughout the collection.
Here was the new Fendi character: the traveller, the jet-setter and the individual. All aboard!
