Elegance in fashion: Rome as a source of inspiration?

WWhen does London designer Kim Jones go to work in Rome in the morning? A crucial question, because Jones says he was inspired by the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, which lie on his path. Inspired for his upcoming summer collection for the Italian house Fendi, which is entirely dedicated to the theme of elegance.

If you think of these magnificent and monumental buildings of the Baroque, not glorified, as in Fellini's more than sixty-year-old film adaptation “The Sweet Life” with Marcello Mastroianni, but in 2023, you think less of fountains and stairs and more to the tourists. Lots of them. From the rising of the sun until long after it sets. Men's feet in sandals, pale, hairy legs in colorful shorts, sweaty jersey, functional clothing, selfie sticks. In this hot summer with temperatures beyond 40 degrees. The ugliness of the present outshines the historical beauty; there is hardly any room for elegance here. When exactly did designer Kim Jones find inspiration for his pleasantly elegant dresses here? That reach to the middle of the calf, are delicately sandstone-colored or baby blue, move cutouts from the décolleté towards the shoulder and thus replace common exposure with new presentations of the body?

It can be considered certain that Jones starts his day's work early. After all, he is not only the artistic director at Fendi, but also the chief designer of the Dior men's collection. When asked why he wanted to become a fashion designer, Jones replied: “I wanted to do something that created a world.” In this case, it's more of a counterworld. And in fact, he says he fantasized about “passers-by dressed in Fendi” along his path. Is elegance the best answer to the ugliness of the moment?

In any case, Kim Jones is not the only one who is convinced of this. His friend and long-time confidant, the designer Stefano Pilati, also sees it that way. And as a “Friend of Fendi”, he can also present his thoughts on this as part of a collection launched this October.

Pilati, who has worked as a designer for Prada, Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Zegna and now runs his own label called Random Identities, has a different focus than his friend. While Kim Jones tailors his women's collection unmistakably for the female physiognomy, Stefano Pilati plays with the classic codes of men's and women's clothing. His men, embodied by confidants such as the choreographer MJ Harper, who regularly models for Pilati, wear flowing black silk robes with waist belts, his women wear masculine suits made of luxurious wool fabrics and vice versa.

Pilati, who was born in Milan and now lives in Berlin, also says that Rome inspired him: “The Roman style is much freer than the Milanese.” He says: “Everything here is more. More sun, more femininity, more masculinity, more eccentricity, less convention. Everything here speaks to me!”