Fendi Spring 2017 Menswear

Pablo Picasso was clearly one of the great artistic forces of the 20th century, as well as being an enthusiastic pursuer of passion. His third important yet-often overlooked attribute was his fondness for terry cloth. Pictures of Pablo wearing his favorite scarlet towelling shorts on the Côte d’Azur were central to Silvia Venturini Fendi’s mood board inspiration today, as were shots of Dalí, Hockney, and Albert Einstein also enjoying their holidays. Einstein, in particular, had genius resort game: he wore his polo rucked up just so, his terry shorts mid-thigh, and a pair of devastating peep-toe sandals.

All of this added up to an overwhelmingly easy collection shot through with eureka moments of eclectic quirk. That terry, or “sponge” as Fendi termed it, came through in some marvelous cabana coats, striped tees, and Picasso tribute shorts. It was used as the white lining in a blue and brown paint-striped jacket that appeared to be shearling but wasn’t. Conversely, the inserts at the shoulder panel of a blue and yellow deckchair striped trucker jacket looked like terry but were fur. These sleights of hand reflected the more pragmatic reversibility of brown leather and white silk jackets and coats that could be worn one way or the other. Accessories included beefy bags with Dalí-esque but Fendi-fied face pattern patches. The patterns were rich: Some nylon pieces near the end with multicolor waves that ran a spectrum from yellow to purple via green and violet were, said Fendi, “like after a drink.” Woozy, boozy, but shot through with focused creativity, this collection made as much of a splash as the painting its set was built to remind you of.