After a hiatus of two years, Milan Fashion Week is back on the runway, with shows previewing on 24 February to international audiences.
Indeed, some in the audience were Russian buyers who descended on Italy’s style capital despite tensions in Europe over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine which has since taken place.
A special agreement brokered between the Italian National Fashion Chamber and the government allowed Russians who were vaccinated with Sputnik V, not on the approved list for entry to Italy, to attend the event.
Show invitations also were extended to Ukrainian buyers, but they did not attend, according to the fashion council.
One highlight was the preview of Collection 0 by Ennio Capasa, the son of Milan’s fashion council president Carlo Capasa, but as the music started the first runway offerings for this season were mostly womenswear.
Let’s take a look at the designers back at Milan Fashion Week.
Fendi goes traditional with tweed and Chiffon?
Fendi’s Creative director Kim Jones curated a star-studded front row including pop stars Rita Ora, Neneh Cherry, and Cherry’s daughter Mabel, all decked out in the label’s designs.
Jones’ latest collection took inspiration from the late Karl Lagerfeld and interplayed chiffon sheers with tweeds, giving a playful edge to daytime and imbuing evening with a fresh sexiness.
For Fendi’s Autumn-Winter 2022 collection, chiffons were patchworked together with a ruffled exterior stitch into day dresses with matching bloomers, worn with cropped fur, or ruffle-edge tops with pants.
Bright gloves or bags in orange, and grounded by seafoam green, offset the pastel tones.
Add-ons like big, belted flat pockets added a utilitarian flair that worked over chiffon dresses in conjunction with the corsets or as an embellishment to a skirt or trouser.
Silvia Venturini Fendi designed the accessories, including three editions of the Fendi Baguette – in cashmere, shearling-lined leather and intarsia mink – to mark the bag’s 25th anniversary. Her daughter, Delfina Delettrez, designed the jewellery, including supersized monogrammed ear cuffs.
“It’s a wardrobe designed for every aspect of a woman’s life, for every generation,” Jones said.
