The Fendi Fall 2023 ad campaign plays with binaries: the exploration and elevation of deconstruction; the interpolation of gendered archetypes; the disturbance of ladylike sophistication. The illusion of insouciance is elegantly constructed, and pieces are designed to be worn every which way.

Masculine tailoring and traditional fabrics are twisted into feminine forms, while elements of utilitarianism appear throughout: boilersuits, aprons, uniforms. Lace is lacquered and layered; flashes of fetishism appear through slips of lingerie peeking through, or thigh-high lace-up boots.

A clean-cut mac falls open to flash its sequined lining; bias-cut draped dresses or Persian lamb bibs appear with harnessed straps. In a perfected perspective on punk, knitwear appears cleanly slashed or gently warped. Felted wools are slightly shrunken, ribbed knits left unbuttoned, or worn askew. Satin dresses with a twisted drape are romantically trailed by billowing scarves.

With graphic motifs drawn from the Fall 1996 Fendi archive seamlessly expressed in intarsia, alongside Karl Lagerfeld’s 1981 sketches for multipurpose knitwear offering a formative inspiration, the history of the House is reflected anew.

With the introduction of a new handbag, the Fendi Origami, Silvia Venturini Fendi pays homage to that multipurpose sensibility so innate to the House, through a shape which has been engineered to transform between two distinct silhouettes.