Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi, in creating Friends of Fendi, a diverse series of projects and collections, crossed the “party lines” of the fashion industry, distinguished by a belief in sincerity over strategy, with a true notion of friendship at their heart.

Exploring both the traditional womenswear and menswear sides of Fendi, the collection curated with Pilati reaches a new conclusion for the house, going beyond gender to something essentially more character-driven and iconoclastic.

Reflecting on the 1920s as well as the 2020s, Pilati explores the idea of “the flapper” for today, proposing answers as to whom might fulfill that role now both through clothing and casting.

A sense of duality — a very Fendi quality — and a hybridization in clothing takes place in the collection both in terms of individual garments and accessories together with clothing combinations.

Duality extends to where Milano meets Roma in the collection. Here, Milanese bourgeois chic meets Roman freedom. Bourgeois prim perversity is played upon together with an aristocratic insouciance.

Meanwhile, an almost cinematic perspective leads the approach in the use of accessories in the Fendi Winter 2023-2024 collection.

A multiplicity of bags features in the collection, becoming shorthand for the character of the wearer, each with its own distinct personality.

In many ways, it is a ‘greatest hits’ of Fendi bags — from iconic shapes to new classics — reapproached with a new eye by Silvia Venturini Fendi curated with Pilati.

The FF buckle is applied to the sides — as opposed to the fastening — of the new Baguette Twist, which is crafted from color blocking smooth nappa leather.

The new Fendi Boston 365 bag appears in a modern and sleek design with a magnetic opening and hammered leather.

An idea of duality runs throughout, from the concept and construction of the Origami bag to the dual pocketed Peekaboo in a range of startling exotics.

A new, pillowy, softly constructed leather Baguette also makes a debut appearance, featuring a bold Fendi metallic logo script, the handle can also be worn as an ornament attached to the shoulder strap.

Fendi’s signature leather savoir-faire is visible in the interlace workmanship present throughout the accessories, such as in the reinterpretation of an archive mini-FF interlace present on a timeless Peekaboo.

Shoes are constructed and sized with both sexes in mind and also often feature a hybridized style. For example, loafers present a classically rigorous masculine construction and weight in calf — yet with the addition of a distinctly feminine kitten heel. Ballerinas are toughened both literally and figuratively with the use of constructed, binding ankle straps.