Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi have launched a new project – Friends of Fendi – whereby established designers will produce a capsule genderless collection under the Fendi label. The inaugural Friend of Fendi is none other than Stefano Pilati, the former creative director of both Yves Saint Laurent and Ermenegildo Zegna.

“Stefano is one of the designers I admire the most,” Kim Jones said of the collaboration. “I was always in love with his work and he is somebody I look up to.” Pilati’s capsule collection takes inspiration from both the 1920s and the 2020s, reimagining the idea of the flapper for today.

Within the collection, Pilati sees the classic flapper girl with her bobbed hair and lack of corset as a symbol for the androgyny of today’s styles, melding ideas of male and female silhouettes into a fully unisex collection. Loafers are designed with kitten heels, and in a new twist, the Baguette Twist bag features a side FF buckle as opposed to the traditional fastening. Soft tailoring and voluminous construction are matched with leather and traditional fabrics, while a tailored trouser is held up with a drawstring waistband. It is a clash of worlds. 

But it isn’t just in the gender of the clothing where two worlds mix. “Milano versus Roma” is at the heart of Pilati’s collection. “I am from Milan but there is a freedom in the Roman style that Milan does not have.” Bringing these cities and cultures together, there is a real sense of the Pilati having fun with the Fendi codes through his own expressive sensibility. 

The collection will be launched on 26th October in-store in London, Dubai, New York, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong.