When the Body Does the Talking
Review of Fendi Spring 2027 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
The comfort of disappearing into a world of romance has tempted many this season. Seeking emotional connection and something more than surface level spectacle, love affairs, sensuality, whimsy, and sexual freedom have all formed part of an over-arching theme bringing how we express ourselves behind closed doors into the light.
For her sophomore Fendi collection Maria Grazia Chiuri created an unusually divisive set design that obscured the clothes but carried a deeper meaning. Inspired by a 1970s television series that aired on Saturday nights in a variety show format, it opened every week with a choreographed dance number performed by Raffaella Cartà. The particular episode that caught the designers attention was a performance by Cartà and Adriano Celentano who sang ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol.’ A song made up of gibberish but whose underlying message was one of a world where there was a lack of human communication – sound familiar? But the catchy rhythm and repetitive sounds were used to break down barriers where words often failed. And today it was the clothes, or what we could see of them, that did the talking as the body became a muse through which Chiuri chose to communicate.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Maria has never shown herself to be a designer concerned with over exposing the female form, yet when she found a house the was not only founded by, but empowers women, it must have felt like a safe (non male gaze) space to explore the subject.
As with other designers this season, a curious obsession with the woman’s inner sanctum took hold and Chiuri gave us her own lap around the lingerie drawer. With the bra taking on the starring role it was used throughout the collection as a device to communicate freedom, as opposed to judgement or control.
And freedom, not only in giving the Fendi woman (although it is likely to be the Fendi girl) permission to bare her bra, but to wear her layers languidly without restriction. The designer was also conscious of balance – the more overtly sexy looks broadening the Fendi brand out towards a younger clientele, who now has more options outside of the baguette bag – and all the ways we dress for the night were under the spotlight. Slips and half-slips (a style of modest underwear only women of a certain age will recall wearing) velvet robe style dresses and embellished sets were also included in the collection.
The intimates featured could have come straight from a romance novel, rather than a Victorias Secret catalogue. It felt precious and in some cases from a bygone era – see the turquoise bloomers – when lingerie was worn for special occasions and wrapped in tissue paper to store. No wonder Chiuri chose to put them on display, especially when she will have had access to some of the best lace and decorative trims available. This was lingerie that should be seen. Hence why mirrored surfaces that created multiple reflections of the models (a clever, if disorientating experience for the audience) were used as her choice of runway device. Referring to her reasoning that mirrors allow you to discover yourself among others, via a social media post, was the designer suggesting that show goers take a moment among the busyness of fashion week to also look inward? Or was it simply a channeling of 1970s variety shows?
Although the exposed bras and bloomers were the key talking point of the show, there were additional themes around folk, military and of course fur. All of which seemed slightly incohesive but was a lighter take than on her debut outing. And though the likelihood of the average Fendi customer readily adopting naked dressing as a lifestyle choice the addition of those overlapping themes gave the end user plenty of layering options.
The staging and foundation of this collection ushered in a version of the Fendi woman that is secure in her bodily autonomy and can often be playful in her fashion choices, much like the creative director at the helm.
THE WRAP UP
The very deliberate nature of the set design, where mirrored surfaces and multiple reflection made viewing the nuances of the clothes on display that much harder, was a commentary on the times. Too often those who attend fashion shows now are preoccupied with watching it through their screens ,when they should be observing in order to form an opinion. In asking us to reflect the designer also wanted to consider the ways in which we communicate, or don’t.
Often misunderstood when our deepest thoughts are reduced to a character count the use of Adriano Celentano’s ‘Prisencolinensinainciusol’ song made the point that we are no longer understanding with our words or our eyes, so in making the body her spring 2027 muse – by sensually disrobing it to reveal the decadence of what we hide beneath our everyday wares – she let it do the talking, and when two bodies come together, as in the words of the show invitation “I like my body when it is with your body” words are often no longer needed.
