Friday Feeling
Capturing the spirit of every nine-to-fiver’s favourite day of the week, Silvia Venturini Fendi has given office-inspired formalwear a playful twist for the house’s SS18 menswear collection. Choosing to leave the weighty materials and dull, muted colours customarily associated with office workwear for the real corporate drones, Fendi’s latest offering features delicate silks, sleeveless shirts, and clashing prints reined in by a natural colour palette of beiges, greens and pinks. Even the catwalk itself was made to resemble a marbled office reception complete with turnstile and mock lift doors, thanks to the efforts of set designer, Sarah Balvio.
Disguised Logos
The infamous Fendi logo made several secret appearances on the catwalk, serving to strike the perfect balance between artistic branding and aesthetic appeal. What initially appeared to be a simple, chequered suit was, on closer inspection, revealed to be made up of sets of the iconic F’s, while smaller details – notably a par of fur sliders and slingback loafers – featured the logo embossed or printed onto straps.
Artistic Appeal
Adding a sense of inventiveness to the collection were a set of unique designs from British artist and Lucian Freud muse, Sue Tilley. Tilley’s paintings embellish an array of the RTW garments and accessories here, serving to solidify the refined playfulness of the ideal Fendi man that is incorporated into the collection. Her designs – sets of keys, desk lamps and cups of tea that take the shape of badges, patches, and pins – consolidate the mundanity of everyday life with a necessary degree of relaxed spontaneity.