Silvia Venturini Fendi pays homage to John Cassavetes’s ’80s thriller Gloria, starring Gena Rowlands with the Fendi Resort 2020 collection, the first since Karl Lagerfeld’s passing.

A provocative look, classy but seductive was highlighted in a daywear with a softer and more fluid approach, without detracting from the eccentric play between masculine and feminine, and construction and looser shapes.

This was expressed in a series of soft tailored suits with sharp-cut blazers paired with matching trapeze midi skirts that were deceitfully demure, the sexy high slits on the sides revealing bare legs and high-heeled leather boots. As an homage to Rowlands’s seductive style, a black suit with a fitted blazer and a pleated midi skirt in silk jacquard was named “Gloria”: It was the template for a few variations on the theme, the most glamorous being a version in warm brown shaved mink with handmade pierced geometric motifs.

Beautifully constructed blazers crafted in lightweight, feminine fabrics were matched with pleated skirts revealing sensual high slits, as well as with high-waisted pants with deep pleats injected with a mannish feel. Leather was also the fabric of choice for ’80s-inspired collection.

The logo was played subtly but consistently throughout the collection with the double FF and the Pequin, printed in discreet, micro versions mixed with colorful intarsia work.