KARL LAGERFELD took his Fendi woman back to the early Sixties doldrums this morning, giving an injection of Fendi sparkle that, for a moment made us want to run around with a feather duster.
The bouffant, swept back beehives and cotton dresses that had pleated apron fronts in washed out red or came in blue and white stripes with buttoned up collars, were fit to take on any domestic chore you might throw their way.
But Lagerfeld has never heard of housework – or at least we hope he hasn’t, it would ruin the illusion – so there was never really any danger of these women doing any. Algebraic detailing and graph paper-inspired embroidery – along with glasses derived from lab goggles - hinted that, beneath their homely exterior, these women had more on their mind than cooking.
They walked out from beneath a huge circular set of scales – perhaps in reference to the baking they are planning not to do, or the experiments they have been attempting – their fly-eye shades and cotton jackets, featuring windows at each shoulder and soft, shapely cuts to match the full skirts beneath them, suggesting no-nonsense chic and absolute confidence.
There were sleeveless cable-knit cricket jumpers - oversized in cream or black with sheer back panels, little leather bombers jackets that were more Seventies mum than biker chic and tidy tea dresses with flags of extra fabric over each shoulder. It was a welcome innocence for a label than can sometimes be far more aggressively chic, with more cotton dresses featuring dots of coloured appliqué – repeated on gorgeous tote bags of punctured leather or finely woven raffia.
Tufted fur coats of mustard and green fox, wide mesh striped knits and multiple bangles worn up the wrist had an attractive, homespun appeal – much more subtle than Burberry’s last week – the natural fabrics and ribbon embellishments as high quality as ever but somehow less overtly so.
A final run of black dresses featured a complicated variety of treatments: black chiffon embossed with silk flowers, glittering beads and swirls of leather and ribbon fringing. They were just as demure but brilliantly attention-seeking and beautifully constructed. There is a lot more to this Fendi woman than first meets the eye.
SEE THE FENDI SHOW ARCHIVE