Fendi kicked off New York Fashion Week with a show celebrating its flagship Baguette bag, making a strong comeback to the runways after the disruption caused by the pandemic.
With 1990s supermodel Linda Evangelista closing out the show with actress Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City with her bag, the Italian luxury house has become a fashion staple 25 years later. I took measures. After she last walked the runway.
Bag creator Silvia Venturini Fendi and Kim Jones, artistic director of Fendi’s women’s collection, collaborated with designers Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co., Sarah Jessica Parker herself, and Japanese bag maker Porter. Did.
The result is an entire collection designed around compact, rectangular purses known to be worn under the shoulder like carrying a bucket.
Techno music blared through Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom, with models parading with baguettes of all shapes and sizes.
Yes, there were bags, but there were also mini baguettes sewn into baguettes or woven into the fabric of the garment itself – pockets, hoodies, sweaters. Parachute skirts, cellophane opera capes, and big fur hats are all recycled, says Fendi.
Silver and fluorescent yellow tones permeate throughout, paying tribute to the glass facades of New York skyscrapers and the safety vests worn by workers everywhere in the city.
– The 90’s are back –
Meanwhile, Evangelista’s triumphant comeback came a year after announcing she was retiring from the limelight after failing cosmetic treatments.
She wasn’t the only star. Of course, Sarah Jessica Parker was also in attendance. Korean actor and model Lee Min Ho was also greeted by a cheering crowd as he stepped onto 34th Street.
Covid-19 has largely canceled the 2020 fashion week, but live shows have resumed in 2021, but without many designers.
But 2022 will see a return to frenzied pace, with 101 shows by Wednesday on the official calendar, followed by three major shows in London, Paris and Milan.
“Live shows are irreplaceable,” Stephen Kolb, CEO of the Fashion Union of America (CFDA), told AFP.
New York brand Proenza Schouler also held a show on Friday in the monumental hall of one of the city’s first Beaux Arts buildings in Manhattan’s financial district.
American brand Tommy Hilfiger is also one of the big names parading in New York this season.
But the CFDA is particularly pleased with European maisons such as Fendi, Italy’s Marni and COS, part of Sweden’s H&M group.
“This really enhances New York’s international reputation,” says Kolb. He also sees it as an awareness of the size of the US market.
Even before the pandemic, New York had to deal with large-scale defections from the likes of Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein.
And this season the American market needs to be devoid of great talent like Pier Moss founder Kirby Jean Raymond.
