Granny-chic is definitively back on top, as Fendi serves up oversized tinted sunglasses, skin-coloured baggy stockings and floral-printed shirts with wide lapels.
On the Fendi SS20 runway on Thursday, Silvia Venturini Fendi - who is the granddaughter of Fendi's founders and creative director for accessories, menswear, and children – ushered in a new aesthetic following the death of the Italian brand’s former creative director Karl Lagerfeld.
The show comes almost seven month to the day since the Fendi autumn/winter 2019 show, which took place days after Lagerfeld's passing, and featured supermodels including Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber, Bella Hadid and Gigi Hadid stepping out of a bubblegum-pink hued tunnel to walk a shiny black runway.
On the catwalk, quilted baby pink and white skirt sets with oversized jackets and boxy heels contrasted with 'Miami granny chic' floral printed macs, check dressing gown-style midi dresses, wide lapelled shirts, tinted sunglasses, camel-coloured jumpsuits and knitwear.
Hours after sporting pigtail plaits on the Max Mara SS20 runway, the young models wore punk-inspired knotted ‘space’ buns (Bella) and high ponytails (Gigi and Jenner), while Edie Campbell and Gerber wore their short bobs down.
While the presentation had a similar camel, brown and cream colour palette as the brand’s AW19 show in February, the collection’s designs were in stark contrast to the pointed shoulders, 1920s-inspired styling and button-up clothing seen on the runway months earlier.
Ahead of the show, Fendi’s Instagram account shared several videos of the production of its SS20 collection which feature seamstresses sewing key pieces and models Hadid and a newly-dyed haired Jenner meeting with key leaders in the brand to try on clothes ahead of their runway performances.
At the time, model Hadid closed the show before Venturini Fendi stepped out onto the runway to rapturous applause from attendees.
The show – which featured the German-born artist’s last collection for the brand - concluded with a screen playing a video of Lagerfeld sketching the outfit he wore on his first day working at Fendi in 1965.
In the video, the camera zooms in on the sketch the designer can be heard describing his attire in the image which featured a Norfolk jacket, French style culottes, boots and a bag.
