It was when Kim Jones was looking through the Fendi archives that he came across the collections from 1984. The outfits, in his mind, embodied so much of the culture and style of that specific year. He saw the rough-and-ready layered styling of the Blitz kids in London (Steve Strange, Princess Julia, Leigh Bowery and the likes), he saw the influence of the Japanese designers who’d taken over the runways of Paris (Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo), and he saw the shades of workwear that the Fendi family often dress themselves in. “When I first met Silvia Venturini Fendi,” Jones stated in the show notes, “she was wearing a very chic utilitarian suit – almost a Safari suit. That fundamentally shaped my view of what Fendi is: it is how a woman dresses that has something substantial to do. And she can have fun while doing it.”

As always, the Fendi FW24 collection started with a foundation in Roman style, upon which Jones then added his Blitz, Japanese, and workwear influences. The first duo of looks had a distinctly Japanese cut with their high collars and cinched waists. These lead to outfits such as #7 which featured mixed fabrics, in this case an Aran knit on the shoulders with woollen arms and a white shirt on the torso. This is the Blitz influence, their outfits constructed in a similar way, layers upon layers, fabrics melding and clashing. Princess Julia, who is still a mainstay of the London fashion schedule, still dresses the exact same way.

Something that you don’t often get from the large heritage fashion houses, but what we did get here, was an avant-garde moment. Take Look #15, a jumper that has been cut open and worn as a shawl, or Look #47 where another Aran knit has been deconstructed and pieced back together in a purposefully awkward way, completely asymmetrical and so out there for Fendi. 

Of course, a special mention must be made to the leather Chupa Chups lollipop holders that numerous models sported. Is it this season’s must-have accessory?