PARIS (Reuters) - Italian fashion label Fendi played with textures in its Haute Couture collection in Paris on Wednesday, overlaying see-through bodices with fur trimmings and creating shimmering, scaly skirts.
Elaborate winter coats and dresses in apricot pink and lavendar hues melded together chiffon, mink and other fabrics such as cashmere, to create cascading effects. Some looks included intricate, sequin-filled latticework.
Rome-based Fendi has long been known for its furs, and has continued to put them forward at a time when many other brands are dropping them from collections, under pressure from changing consumer tastes and animal rights campaigners.
Italy’s Gucci, owned by Kering one of the fastest-growing labels of recent years, is going fur-free as of this year, and independent fashion house Versace recently said it was following suit.
The Fendi show was octogenerian German designer Karl Lagerfeld’s second outing at Haute Couture week in Paris - the season of fashion shows celebrating one-off creations by a select group of houses.
Lagerfeld, who forms a creative duo at Fendi along with the founding family’s scion Silvia Venturini Fendi, also presented his latest turn at France’s Chanel on Wednesday against an elaborate catwalk backdrop that recreated Parisian street scenes.
Fendi, part of France’s luxury conglomerate LVMH that also includes Christian Dior and Givenchy, is under new management following a merry-go-round of executive reshuffling within the group last year to give brands fresh impetus.
Serge Brunschwig, who previously worked at Dior, became Fendi’s CEO in earlier this year.
