41°50’12.1″N 12°27’54.0”E, read the co-ordinates on Fendi’s SS22 invitation, directing us to house’s iconic Roman headquarters, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. Via a cinematic short film conceived by Nico Vascellari, amongst the building’s neoclassical arches, models walked, backdropped by the evolving spectrum of the Roman skies.

The starting point for the collection was the view outwards. “How you see things – and from where you see them – has never been more important,” said Silvia Venturini Fendi, speaking of how our homes have taken on new significance in recent times. “Our singular point of view in this period has modified our perception of the world – and mine has become so linked to what I see from the arches and the rooftop of our building. It is almost like a bird’s eye view of Rome from here… The colours and the perspective are always changing – the soft palette of the Roman sky across the day is so beautiful and I wanted it to be a focal point of this collection.” Translated to the collection, Silvia reflected these hues across a palette that mixed sunrise pastels with mineral shades of chalk, graphite and slate – mirroring the nature/manmade shift as the heavens meet land.

With our head firmly in the clouds, a dreamlike quality swept us away. Shapes were distorted, with tailored jackets sliced to midriff-baring proportions, and pockets sinking beneath hemlines. Trenchcoats were also given the snip, becoming lightweight shoulder armour plates that skewed silhouettes. Loose suiting offered an elongated alternative, and the house’s signature Baguette was shrunk to miniature proportions, reimagined as a jewellery pouch clinging onto fine waist chains. Having spent many days looking out of those majestic arches across 360° views of the seven hills of Rome, the Apennine mountains and glimpses of the Mediterranean Sea, Silvia’s birds-eye-view of the city was replicated as an archival cartographic drawing of the city, reworked as a vivid print with Fendi’s HQ and flagship stores pin-dropped for utmost convenience.

Proving that escape doesn’t have to happen in the subconscious, swimming goggles and caps created in collaboration with Italian swimwear experts, Arena, were introduced alongside ping-pong racket bags for summer sports, while jacket pockets specifically designed to house mobile phones and AirPods reminded us of our – almost nostalgic – daily habits.

The finale of the film saw models stood in individual arches against the pitch-black night sky. Suddenly the image blurred into pulsing ripples as illusion faded into new dawn.