Facing the Future, Where It All Began
Review of Fendi Fall 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
Fendi is a House firmly rooted in family (and well, fur). A history steeped in the importance of sisterhood – the five sisters are woven into every aspect of the brands story and often serve as inspiration for whomever sits at the helm as chief creative officer. In 2026, that CCO is now Maria Grazia Chiuri, in a move that is also a homecoming for the designer. Not just for the fact that Rome was the city in which she was born, but also Fendi was where she cut her teeth, first joining at the age of 24, and where she can claim partial responsibility for designing one of fashions most iconic bags i.e the Baguette.
This new chapter is coupled with the now standard social media wipe, providing Chiuri with the space to tell her story. A story that shares a certain kinship with Fendi that extends beyond her resume, seeing as she also grew up in a family of five sisters, mirroring the original Fendi dynasty formed of Paola, Franca, Carla, Anna (Silvia Venturini’s mother) and Alda and founded by Adele Fendi.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Generational Dressing, Emotional Durability, A New Chapter
As has been the practice for designers this season, overt stances or commentary on the current geopolitical climate have been filtered through a more abstract lens. For Chiuri the slogan has been her medium of choice. Sometimes met with scepticism, her debut attempted to address how the industry, and world-at-large can counteract the division and outright hate that has become entrenched in daily life. ‘Less I, More Us’ could be taken as a necessary, if overly simplistic, rallying call for the industry. As the notes read, her motto was to be taken as ‘A declaration of intent that is more necessary than ever today in order to reaffirm the complexity of the fashion system: the values of working together, of shared intentions and desires.’ Her motto also speaks to how she works, as part of a collective that is in keeping with growing up in a large family of women in Italy. What she refers to as ‘emblematic of both the Italian and the female way of doing things’
Echoing her practice of studying and platforming women in the arts and feminist activism, she also invited into the fold the archivists of the late Italian artist Mirella Bentivoglio – an artists who refused to be defined by any one discipline – to collaborate on a line of limited-edition jewellery. There was also a reunion with SAGG Napoli, the multi-disciplinary artist who opened the spring 2025 Dior show with a display of archery (she also competes at a professional level) who developed the football-inspired scarves and jerseys with phrases praising the virtues of teamwork that is balanced by equal credence given to each members individual skills.
Within the collection there was a welcome cohesiveness across the men’s and women’s looks (as both categories will now sit under her creative direction) that has not been seen at the brand for several seasons, making the choice to stage a co-ed show a smart one. She demonstrated how she viewed a gendered wardrobe as obsolete, for Fall the feminine and the masculine were one, in order to ‘overcome the distinction between the male and female wardrobe’ as the notes explained. This concept for tailoring is an easy win, as ‘borrowed-from-the-boyfriend’ has become a category in its own right, but it also works just as well when applied to utilitarian design. This along with the chief creative officers familial background with the armed forces (her father was in the military) provides the reasoning for its inclusion in the line-up. Embedded with the ease of uniformity, oversized parkas, cargo Bermuda shorts, longline Donkey jackets, and flight suits will likely be commercial hits, appealing across the aisles. Yet they needed something more definitive applied – from a design perspective – in order to set them apart as Fendi. With the market awash with brands who do a similar job at a more accessible price point. This section, sandwiched between the sleek opening looks and the dressier occasion closers also leaned towards a younger generational co-hort.
The clothes themselves felt very Italian in the sharp cuts of the tailoring and the sublime sensuality of the eveningwear. The sheer layering was a bold choice that may be a hard sell for all Fendi customers, but the ease and informal way they were styled with fur football scarves and a socks-and-sandals footwear combination shows that she is imagining that these looks will be remixed for day as well as night. Perhaps paired back with the embroidered fur gilets or vintage wash denim!
In selecting Maria Grazia Chiuri as their new chief creative officer the powers-that-be at Fendi would have been fully versed in her design language, so today’s show has been a soft landing with few surprises to divide opinion for those familiar with the designers storied history. From the masculine tailoring to the decorative lace, the ultra-feminine dresses, and of course the slogan T-shirt’s, today’s fall collection was sprinkled throughout with Chiurisms that may need to be fully reconciled with more Fendi-isms for her to define her tenure. One such initiative was the remodelling of fur within the collection, something the notes referred to as sartorial regeneration, with the idea that fur is handed down from generation to generation – grandmother, daughter, granddaughter – as an ‘act of loyalty’ and archiving. Re-adapting was also in play when the designer returned to where it all began – the baguette bag. And though referring to the repurposing of fur the notes speaking of “emotionally durable design – that is, a products ability to maintain a profound meaning over time for its user” perfectly encapsulated the palpable excitement that is already brewing over the crystal embellished, army green canvas, mirrored shisha embroidered, and monster fur patchworked versions that were sent down the runway with every look.
It’s about making sure everything gets more relaxed. So, it’s a light, sophisticated approach for men and women. You will see [the clothes are] built the same, now you have that coherency with the depth of the craft, one approach comes with another modern approach.
Maria has really embraced this because she knew the house from before, and she knows she’s the master of crafts. To be honest, she is a woman that knows and designs for women. She will really have that empathy for the fabrics and the cut.That’s what’s going to be the difference. We’re putting the client first [rather than thinking about] the noise around fashion. There are a lot of conversations around fashion being superficial, but fashion is about craft, employees, industries, culture, and it’s about art. And now I think Maria is embracing this in a 360 way, and you’ll see that today, but you’ll also see more in the coming months.
Ramon Ros, CEO, Fendi,
THE WRAP UP
This may only be her opener for Fendi but fall 2026 is sure to divide critics either way. Coming from such a high-profile background, where she broke a number of boundaries (she was Dior’s first female creative director) and was commercially very successful, Chiuri knows good clothes, and what women want to wear without the pomp and ceremony or flights of fancy that preoccupy other designers. She is aware that occupying a list that contains only a handful of women’s names (i.e. the top roles at luxury fashion houses) will subject each collection to a level of unwarranted scrutiny not equally applied to her male counterparts, yet she remains steadfast in her resolve, in her language, and in her determination to continue to control her own narrative, without the sway of outside voices, at whatever House to which she is appointed.
For her debut she contemplated the real needs of real women – functionality, desire, longevity – and folded them into a shared vision that crossed the barriers of gender and age, presenting a collection that was emotion-led and hinted at an emotional durability embedded in designs that are made to outlast their owners.
