Having previously invited LA-based artist Joshua Vides to decorate their Harrods pop-up cafe – the Peekaboo Bar – in his signature comic book graphics, Fendi has now announced a special clothing collaboration with the artist as part of the Roman house’s pre-fall 2020 collection.

Titled California Sky, the collection takes influence from the state’s Graffiti and skateboarding cultures – worlds that provided Vides with a creative escape – as the artist translates his trademark black and white marker pen style to Silvia Venturini Fendi’s designs. Playing with ideas of process and perception, structured jackets, bucket hats, blazers and co-ord sets are all outlined to reveal core lines as floral sketches and tromp l’oeil effects decorate specific pieces. Elsewhere, Vides gets his hands on Fendi’s iconic FF monogram, giving it a unique twist cast over a degrade background inspired by the subtle fade of the Roman sky.

Below, we exclusively reveal a short video spotlighting the collection, shot on a blissed-out Californian day.

“With California Sky I tried to tell the story of my background as much as possible without overly doing it, obviously it’s a collaboration,” says Vides. “In Rialto where I grew up, there is not a lot to look up to. So, when we were kind of going over this, the only thing I could ever look up to was the California Sky. And so how can we can incorporate that into the Collection? And obviously Silvia was like, “This is the first time you are going to add colour into something” and I was like “If it’s going to be that, then it’s going to be Fendi.”

The collection will be available on www.fendi.com from 24th June. 

FENDI will launch a special Men’s Piazza Pop-Up in celebration of the California Sky collection, at Harrods from 1st – 28th July: presenting men’s ready-to-wear, accessories and a limited edition Surfboard exclusive to Harrods for the UK.