Haute couture and high jewelry in symbiosis for Fendi Couture Fall/Winter 2023

For the new collection, FENDI Artistic Director for Couture and Womenswear Kim Jones and artisans from the FENDI atelier delved into the codes of couture tradition to find fluidity and how clothing is worn. Volume and drape adapt clothes to the body with ease, an outer corset motif emphasizes busts without constraining movement. Against a minimalist, marbled set décor, silhouettes seemed to glide on water. Second-skin silks, tailored fur and FENDI chevron shearlings wrap the body. The apparent simplicity belies the hidden intricacies of the cuts of the garments, often realized with only a single seam. Jewel box minaudières worn like rings spotlight the high jewelry created by Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Artistic Director of Jewelry. Embroidery techniques unite the clothes and precious jewels, creating a harmony between the two worlds. Yellow and white diamonds together with green, orange and pink Padparadscha, sapphires and spinels illuminate the collection. The colors, notes Kim Jones “come from flesh tones and those of the stones: black diamonds, rubies and sapphires.” Delfina Delettrez Fendi says that the jewels “have a direct and intimate relationship to the body, they are a profound and personal extension of the woman.” The apotheosis of the show was the final look, which took 1,200 hours of meticulous handcrafting to achieve the glittering rose glow. Kim Jones and Delfina Delettrez Fendi came out together at the close of the show, underscoring the importance of synergies between their creative worlds.