"Normality is the new eccentricity." That s the kind of definitive declaration that makes us love Silvia Venturini Fendi, because she so instantly set about deconstructing it with the clothes she showed. Sure, the catwalk was a banal brown, and the building blocks of the collection were the essential elements of a very traditional man s wardrobe. And there is no disputing the commercial truth of Silvia s conviction that luxury has to have a shelf life beyond the whims of one season. But at the same time, she can t help herself when it comes to menswear. She just wants to unhinge every male certitude.
Take that legendary Fendi bag. Silvia is perversely proposing that a man carry a tiny clutch purse. (Okay, there s a sense of humor at work—she also sent sturdy messenger bags and a valise or two down the catwalk. But we know Fendi s heart is in the weirdness.) Getting back to those elements of tradition. A gray flannel coat was spectacularly deconstructed with an asymmetric swoosh of fabric, like an attached shawl thrown over one shoulder. The same principle governed a loose suede coat that swung open in a pagan sweep. Ranked against such exercises in excess was a fur-collared navy coat with neat little epaulettes, so classically precise as to have stepped straight out sixties sci-fi. Likewise, a camel blazer, or a military cape, the very essence of restraint, draped over brown slacks and croc loafers.
DJ John Gosling s soundtrack only added to the proposition, particularly Supermayer s take on Rufus Wainwright s "Tiergarten," a remix so decadently gorgeous that it injects an outré quality into every item of clothing it accompanies. It s hard to escape the suspicion that, despite the luxe connotations that attach to the name of Fendi, the label s menswear is just Silvia s merry sandbox. But we re happy to play.
