2023 is the year of the collaboration, and in our fifth month into the year, a collaboration between two icons has been bestowed upon us. He was the man who revolutionised Louis Vuitton handbags in the late 90s with his seminal artist collaborations, and has gone on to build an eponymous name for himself as one of America's most prolific and enduring designers of his generation. Now, Marc Jacobs has collaborated with Fendi, the Italian House responsible for bringing the Baguette bag to New York city at the turn of the century.
One would have thought that a collaboration of this nature might have come earlier, but the partnership was conceived in New York as part of the Baguette 25th Anniversary celebration. The Fendi by Marc Jacobs collection pays tribute to the iconic Baguette bag and to the city in which its place in pop culture history was sealed, and is brought to us by the man who played a part in forming the very foundation of New York's culture.
For the summer 2023 capsule, Fendi translates Jacobs’ larger-than-life creativity into new silhouettes for the warmer season, splicing it with the codes of the Fendi Roma logo, the exaggerated, platformed and oversized silhouettes, the black and white colour palette with a Fluro touch, through ready-to-wear and accessories for Women’s and Men’s in true Marc Jacobs fashion.
Motifs of salon and street, uptown and downtown, are melded with twentieth century shapes. There are sinuous lines and elongated forms, echoing New York’s ‘Gilded Age’ through a modern interpretation. Through a silvered, grey, white, fluoro yellow and black palette, the street is reflected in both colour and archetypal items. At the same time, utility is a focal point, particularly with the multiple uses of pockets that are at their most pointed when they reflect the form and fastenings of the Baguette bag itself.
The signature Fendi Roma logo has been reinterpreted by Jacobs, and is a constant throughout the collection, noticed in bleached denim ensembles or translated into a subtle jacquard on a dusty grey nylon polo shirt and trouser set. Lightweight sponge or cotton fabrics in chalk white feature the same lettering, while the Baguette pocket enlivens a hooded sweatshirt and a fluoro yellow t-shirt.
In a campaign lensed by Mario Sorrenti, the iconic photographer portrays the Fendi by Marc Jacobs collection in the latest campaign featuring Kendall Jenner, Coi Leray, Sora Choi, Wali Deutsch, Valentine Alvarez, Anok Yai and Luke Lenski.
The collection is available to shop now in-store and online.
