Kim Jones’ haute couture collection for Fendi began with a trip to Japan in March, before the borders had opened. “I managed to get in. I was so determined. I used to go six times a year. I love it so much,” he said during a preview. “We went to see a number of the suppliers we’ve always worked with on special projects, and I bought all these fragments of 17th-century kimonos. Just pieces of hand-painted silk fabric.” The antique pieces inspired him to contact a family of fabric-makers in Kyoto, who recreated and reinterpreted traditional Kata Yuzen motifs for the collection. Jones employed the patterns in long monastic column dresses that appeared like fragments pieced together, and in floral embroideries on transparent garments that included t-shirts, the haute couture way. “It’s pretty light. I wanted lightness in the clothes this season, also in terms of how the embroideries were done,” he explained. The show opened with a pair of tailoring looks constructed in the finest vicuna, a tactility Jones went on to evoke in long knitted dresses. “I wanted to have some light knitwear pieces for, you know, that jet-set lifestyle of the client. They can wear that on the plane and get off and still fabulous.” As the show progressed, his silhouettes became lighter and lighter until the dresses became almost embroidered overlays floating on the skin. “I love the colours,” Jones said of his earthy tones and muted pastels. “I’m really happy with it.”

Photography courtesy of Fendi.

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