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Get PORT in printFrom Issue 33; reinterprenting workwear staples
Styling Mitchell Belk
Photography Rodrigo Carmuega
Model Saul Symon at Wilhelmina
Casting Nico Carmandaye
Hairstyling Yoko Setoyama At Dawes
Make Up Lydia Ward-Smith Using Chanel
Set Design Lucy Blofeld
Production Lock Studios
This article is taken from Port issue 33. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
Taken from Issue 32, styling and set design Lune Kuipers, photography Gaëtan Bernède.
Photography Gaëtan Bernède
Styling and set design Lune Kuipers
This article is taken from Port issue 32. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
Arno Frugier and Mitchell Belk’s homage to Cecil Beaton, for issue 31
Photography Arno Frugier
Styling Mitchell Belk
Model Lachlan Mac at Kate Moss Agency
Casting Abi Corbett
Production The Production Factory
Grooming Hiroshi Matsushita using Oribe hair care
Model wears vintage earrings throughout
Thanks to Chan Photographic Imaging
This article is taken from Port issue 31. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
Photography Angus Williams
Styling Georgia Thompson
Hairstylist Hiroshi Matsushita
Models Pete Golding at XDIRECTN, Robert Suthers at Tomorrow Is Another Day, Steve Fox at Tomorrow Is Another Day, Daniel courtesy of Ethan Price Casting, Bulent Mehmet courtesy of Ethan Price Casting
Casting Ethan Price
Styling Assistant Helly Pringle
This article is taken from Port issue 30. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
Fendi’s SS22 collection finds new perspectives in familiar points of view
Silvia Venturini Fendi is among the few who can say they truly know Rome’s Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana – or, to use its snappier, colloquial name, the Square Colosseum. Built at the end of the Facist era, this six-storey tower with its facade of never-ending arches remained largely uninhabited for decades, until Fendi took up residence in 2015. Now, the designer’s office sits atop the hulk of travertine marble; from her desk, she enjoys a panorama of the city’s seven hills, their contours ever-changing as the sun moves from east to west.
It’s this alchemy of light, land and architecture that runs through Fendi’s spring/summer collection. “How you see things – and from where you see them – has never been more important,” says the designer. “Our singular point of view in this period has modified our perception of the world, and mine has become so linked to what I see from the arches and rooftop of our building.”
There’s a dreamlike quality about the clothes. A palette of soft pastels – lime, lavender, pistachio – evokes the morning sky with bolts of punchy graphite, slate and indigo for the twilight hours, all rendered in fluid shirting, diaphanous outerwear and slouchy linen-silk suiting. Two graphic motifs punctuate the mostly-monochromatic styling, representing Fendi’s unique and towering vantage point over Rome. One spins the city’s natural contours across tactile crochet and knitted shearling, the other recreates an archival illustrated street map to witty effect. Of course, there are trainers – knitted, in more pastels, along with bucket hats and, amusingly, ping-pong racket bags (Fendi spoke last season of having had “enough” of streetwear, but is a savvy pragmatist).
For a collection whose origins lie in an enforced stillness, there is a thrilling current of adventure. Tailoring plays with proportions and perceptions: daringly cropped jackets come to an abrupt end at the midriff, others are split with a sheer organza bottom half. Shorts are extra short and loaded with cargo pockets, trousers often with a dandy-ish split hem. He’s a free spirit, this Fendi man, an ethereal maverick – but one who still nods towards a classic Italian sensibility, be it in the gentle cut of his overcoat or his smart nylon messenger. Alluring and modern, he’s unafraid of the feminine. He embraces it, in fact, slinging a crossbody over his shoulder or a playful, shrunken Baguette bag on a chain around his waist, as he wanders the piazzas in his buckled sandals, daydreaming about what tomorrow will bring.
Photography Jack Johnstone
Styling Grace Joel
Set design Imogen Frost
Grooming Laila Zakaria
Model Liren Shih at Chapter Management
Casting George Raymond Stead
Photography assistant Aaron Crossman
This article is taken from Port issue 30. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
Carlo Capasa, chairman of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, discusses MFW and the future of fashion
Apolitical and not-for-profit, the aims of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI) have remained largely the same since its inception in 1958: to “represent the highest values of Italian fashion, and to protect, co-ordinate and strengthen the image of Italian fashion in Italy and abroad, as well as the technical, artistic and economic interests of its Associates”. Representing more than 200 companies across the sector, it plays a vital and global role in setting the fashion agenda, most visibly through Milan Fashion Week. January’s menswear offering remained on tenterhooks, unsure whether it would even be able to go ahead three days before launch, but in the end delivering 23 shows and 47 brand presentations. It was a week of Italian staples expressing themselves confidently – Prada, Zegna, Brioni and Fendi deserve special mention – as well as striking debuts, with brands like JW Anderson and 1017 ALYX 9SM presenting for the first time in the calendar of shows.
Conducting such an orchestra year on year (and through a pandemic) would shave years off my life, I confessed to Carlo Capasa, the charismatic chairman of CNMI. Capasa is simply too busy (and optimistic) to worry, and caught up with Port to discuss the association’s active work in upskilling Italian workers, fostering greater diversity and inclusion, and how covid has accelerated its digital capabilities.
Congratulations on a fantastic week, have you had a moment to relax or is it onto the next thing?
We’re deep into, of course, the next fashion week! Women’s is complex to organise because there’s more brands, more presentations, but we’re hoping the covid situation in Europe will have improved slightly. Men’s was very successful, but it was stressful not knowing whether it was going to go ahead three days before we started… We are excited for February and hope we can deliver an even better week this time.
Before any of the shows, you started with a tribute to Giovanni Gastel, the photography legend who sadly passed away. This felt like a personal and moving way to begin.
He was an incredible, brilliant man. Charming, creative, unique. He was not only part of the Italian community, but to the global fashion community. Not only a great artist, but a great person. I thought it was quite natural to celebrate the first fashion week without him, with him. He was a friend of mine, and really a friend of everyones. We started with the heart.
Fendi, Brioni, Zegna and Prada in particular delivered striking collections, were there any others that surprised you?
All collections this season were particularly creative. During this crisis fashion has reacted with creativity, trying to break out of the pandemic and the restrictions it brings. Taking all this pressure and turning out something fresh, a new dream, new feeling, some positivity. I think it was one of the strongest collections in a creative sense, and I appreciate this approach, this attitude everybody brought.
Pressure makes diamonds. There definitely seemed to be a note of elegance, people being keen to dress up, go out, feel luxurious. I suppose it is only natural after what we’ve gone through.
Yes, it is an appropriate reaction to the time we are living through, where many are confined to their homes…
In the same trousers, every day…
Yes, let’s take it to the next level, capture that energy of going out, of feeling good!
Throughout the last couple of years, MFW has been recognised as an industry standard, how have you found navigating this new terrain and making sure people are protected, whilst still showcasing what’s next?
We were forced to be very resilient, to react and adapt very quickly to any situation. There were weeks where we were almost 90% digital, which was completely new. In February 2020, we organized, in a few days, a new idea for a digital platform exclusively for China showcasing all that would happen in Milan. We made a deal with Tencent – allowing for direct streaming, essentially 24 hours of digital communication – and immediately hit 18 million people watching the week. Since then we’ve understood that the digital side of our offering was just as important as the physical. Last September, we had 56 million people watching and these dual tracks will remain, even when we’re out of the pandemic. Because although the experience of seeing a fashion show in the flesh is something you cannot miss – meeting other people, talking to the designers – with strong digital organisation, we are able to bring another kind of experience to everyone in the world, enlarging our community. With travel impossible, we found a way to travel, as it were. This idea of digital was already there, dormant, but was accelerated, meaning we gained five years of growth in six months. We’ve caught up on virtual collections, 3D pattern-making and printing, all these new frontiers that impact the production chain, in such a short time.
I know making sustainable changes to the industry and supporting young Italian talent is a focus area for CNMI, could you expand on this a little?
For many years we’ve been asking, what do we really need? Does fashion need to be so fast? The consciousness of people has been growing over the past two years, especially in the first year of the pandemic. Should there be limited production for some collections, so we’re not over producing, trying to be closer to actual consumer demand? Do we need constant sales, over consumption? Let’s change the idea of fashion, whether that’s a better understanding of recycling, reusing or renting vintage, using less plastic, having a say in the chemicals used in our industry. Beyond building a more circular economy, we’re trying to push a greater understanding on the human, social element. We’re talking to our community about rules and values, because we cannot ignore the people and hands that produce our garments. We’re therefore controlling more of our production chain and have just conducted an important survey to analyse the wages and work conditions of fashion workers in Italy, so we improve their conditions. All the brands we work with have embraced these recommendations, and we are proud to say we very recently signed an agreement with the ministry of labour and social policies, allowing us to digitally upskill and retrain 40,000 workers in the industry over the next five years. Amidst change, we want to make sure no one is left behind.
You have also been looking to encourage greater diversity and inclusion?
The fashion community has the opportunity to communicate at a high level some of these values, in some cases more so than the government can. It is an incredible responsibility because incredible change is needed, but we cannot hide. We have to stand up for what we think matters, and diversity is a value. I would like to think that fashion is open, that we do not judge by culture, religion, sexuality, race. For me, fashion was always a place where you could be a little more accepted, whoever you were. But, we have work to do. We published our manifesto on inclusiveness in 2019, following a great many roundtables with Bottega Veneta, Brioni, Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Zegna, Fendi, Armani, Moschino, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino and Versace, among others, all working together to layout structural and concrete changes needed. Whether that’s ensuring proper stylists can treat different hair textures before the runway, or working with charities such as Mygrants, a platform providing free training for refugees. Many of the those participants now have full time work. Fashion, by definition, is projected into and concerned with the future. So we are responsible in shaping and contributing to that future through diversity, which is the natural balance of things. The planet, our ecosystem, is rooted in it. Diversity is the beauty of difference. Unfortunately that is sometimes not obvious to our society.
What role do you think the pandemic will continue to play in your world?
As mentioned, fashion is always presenting what is next, in some way, always looking forward. Designers think about next seasons, new possibilities, and projected timelines. They are always putting hope that we are the end of the tunnel, that something will change. That we are emerging into something new. They think beyond lockdowns and try to capture another mood. This is the visionary side of fashion: anticipating wishes, our dreams of tomorrow.
Milano Fashion Week Women’s takes place 22nd-28th February, 2022
In a celebration of history and heritage, this new book serves as a love letter from Kim Jones to Bloomsbury and Fendi
“Memory is the seamstress, and a capricious one at that,” writes Virginia Woolf in Orlando. A love letter penned by the acclaimed author in October 1928, the satirical novel was inspired by the family history of Vita Sackville-West, who’s both a friend and lover of the author. A feminist accord and one that rose to great acclaim, the book details Vita’s transition from man to woman as she goes on to live through centuries, thus meeting many names in English literary history.
This love letter has inspired the debut Fendi Couture Spring / Summer 2021 collection designed by Kim Jones, the newly appointed artistic director of womenswear and couture. Derived from his adoration for the Bloomsbury, a term used to describe the English artist and literary movement, the pieces within pull references to both the time-travelling words found in Orlando as well as cues from the Bloomsbury Group – a cohort of English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists from the first half of the 20th century, which both Virginia and painter/interior designer Vanessa Bell were part of. The collection therefore pays homage to the warping concept of time and gender found in Orlando, which has now been composed into a new publication titled The Fendi Set.
The book, published by Rizzoli, is an ode to the rich heritage of both Bloomsbury and Fendi, as well as the locations shared between them and the two lovers of Orlando. Consequently, the work involved gives a firm nod to the characteristics of both England and Rome – two significant locations visited in the collection and publication. Documentary and portrait photographer Nikolai von Bismarck has collaborated for the release and, concurrently, has created a series of textural collage-esque imagery that alludes to the archaic style of a Victorian-era photograph album. Paired with diary entries and letters written by members of the Bloomsbury Group – such as the love letter correspondence between Woolf and Sackville-West – it’s a significant pairing that allows its viewers to traverse back in time joyfully and momentarily.
Working with Polaroid, film and Super-8, Nikolai says of his process: “Whether shooting landscapes, interiors or models, I wanted to maintain an ethereal sense of dreaminess, with figures that are occasionally ghostlike and who seem to drift on the page. Sometimes with muted colours to mirror the palette of Duncan Grant and Clive Bell. Sometimes images were dark and moody, textured, layered, soft blurred and sometimes not like photographs at all – images that were above all romantic and true to the characters of the Bloomsbury Group, dark graceful and free.”
Structurally, the book journeys through the hilltops of Southern England and traverses to ancient Rome, before landing finally at the aqueducts of Italy. Two family histories are expelled in unison: the artists of Bloomsbury and the dynasty of Fendi. To reveal this synergy, the book is split intro three sections. The first takes its audience to Sussex and Kent, which are two locations associated with the Bloomsbury Group; they’re also referencing Sackville-West’s ancestral home and the fictional family seat of Orlando. Additionally, Sackville-West later lived with her husband Harold Nicolson in Sissinghurst Castle. The second chapter takes place in Paris as it marks the couture presentation abound with Italian Renaissance references; the third travels to Rome to follow in the steps of Bloomsbury artists who spent time there, including Woolf.
“I wanted a ghostly atmosphere, a dreamlike quality,” states Kim, discussing the book’s unmissable aura. “Orlando is about time travelling and I wanted the work to transience time, to drift between the present, past and future. Nikolai’s photographic language and his exploration of both analogue and other experimental techniques and textures evokes these shifting narratives.”
Other contributors include Tilda Swinton who’s written the preface, as well as Bloomsbury scholar Dr Mark Hussey who’s penned the introduction; Hussey also worked with the archive of Berg Library in New York to curate Woolf’s diaries and letters.
The Fendi Set with photography by Nikolai von Bismarck and text by Kim Jones, Jerry Stafford and Dr. Mark Hussey is published by Rizzoli priced £97.50
Photography Conor Clinch
Styling Mitchell Belk
Models Luard and Ungho at Elite London
Grooming Asahi Sano at Caren using Bumble and Bumble
Casting Ikki Casting
Production Kat Perry
This article is taken from Port issue 29. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
FENDI and Mabeo present a collection celebrating Botswana artisans for Design Miami
Undulating wood and interlocking clay – this is what happens when Botswana meets Rome. FENDI has collaborated with Mabeo – the furniture, accessories and design studio founded by Peter Mabeo in 1997 that prizes natural materials and purity in form – for this year’s Design Miami, resulting in an ingenious, joyful collection. Titled ‘Kompa’ (originating from the Botswana brand’s most senior (in age) craftsperson, meaning something that is complete), the ten pieces of furniture showcase interrelating techniques unique to the African country, and collaboration at its most fluid.
Travelling the breadth of the landlocked region, the partnership engaged artisans to produce work both striking in its simplicity, and expansive in its multi-functionality. The Loma Stool, for example, is three objects in one that can be used as either two storage containers, two stools, or when joined, as a side table. Displayed in two material iterations, ancient pottery methods join with woodworking, while the inside is painted by artists local to the vast Kalahari Desert.
Pieces that more consciously reference the legendary Italian house include the modular efo Stool, which channels FENDI’s double F motif and combines clay with panga panga wood, and the charming geometric Maduo Chair, which directly translates Delfina Delettrez Fendi’s O’Lock jewellery. The more abstract Gabi-Gabi sculpture meanwhile, the largest piece in the collection that is formed from hand-beaten galvanished metal sheets, beautifully compliments the organic, cloud-like Chichira Cabinet, which is seamlessly basket woven.
Another standout, of course, is Mabeo’s reimagining of FENDI’s infamous Peekaboo handbag, interpreted through a desert craft lens – where plant-based materials are rare – and finished using traditional tanning, treating and stitching methods, additional components cast in metal and hand carved in wood.
Released in parallel to the collection is a limited-edition publication that visually documents the considerable effort and thought that went into the collaboration, from road trips to works in progress to schematic drawings of each piece. An illuminating accompaniment to a collection that is truly the complete package.
Double entendres abound in Fendi’s AW20 collection
For this season’s Fendi man, nothing is as it seems. Big square bags in canary yellow with black piping mimic the Roman brand’s signature packaging, but are rendered in leather instead of paper. Overcoats are reversible, so can be worn with their intricate construction and contrasting lining proudly on show (which also lends a certain bionic quality). Panels can be removed, converting long fur coats into skimpy boleros with the swoosh of a zip; and what looks like a pair of trousers from the front is a skirt from the back. Jackets are loaded with hidden pockets – for earphones, credit cards, gum, cigars – and bags are woven in soft knitted wool that recalls chunky handmade jumpers. Garments are wallets; bags are garments; pieces are modular and adaptive. “There is always something to discover,” says creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi.
Last season, Fendi took us to the garden, dressing men in khaki overalls and sand-coloured shorts. But for autumn/winter it’s all about city slickers. “This season the Fendi man is more urban; he is even more sexy to me,” says Fendi. There’s plenty of dark moody tailoring in classic shades of black, grey and camel – but The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit has been catapulted into 2020. These suited gents are stomping the sidewalk in chunky lug-soled boots or featherlight sneakers, carrying cross-body bags in place of briefcases, and donning cashmere bucket hats rather than felt fedoras. Shocks of Fendi yellow cut through the understated elegance.
This is dressing up for the post-streetwear consumer, but that doesn’t mean it’s boring. Quite the opposite. From the shearling mimicking cashmere, to the cashmere mimicking shearling, to the accessories mimicking packaging, to the inside-out garb, playfulness and a sense of the surreal is omnipresent. Everything looks good – but make sure you look twice.
Photography Jesse Laitinen
Styling Natalie Brewster
Set design Paulina Piipponen
Grooming Jody Taylor
Model King Owusu at The Squad
This article is taken from issue 27. To buy the issue or subscribe, click here