Kim Jones returns to the runway as Fendi channels heavenly Rome

Following in the footsteps of the late Karl Lagerfeld being at the creative helm of the Roman house is no easy feat, but Jones once again worked with his contemporary sensibility on lavish designs to channel the Eternal City.

Here are some highlights from the final day of the Spring 2022 Couture Collections:

Fendi's Rome

Fragments of architecture, with incandescent lighting, were suspended on a dark walkway inside the neoclassical Brongniart Palace. Above him, adding to the drama, floated a giant orb of white light. This was, Jones said, the realm of "heavenly Rome," reinterpreted by his irreverent eye.

This season's inspiration seemed, at first, quite mundane: Jones's walk to work at the Fendi atelier in Rome, where he walks past historical landmarks only to arrive in a contemporary setting. However, the designs explored a juxtaposition between the "sculptural marbles" of her commute and his "ecclesiastical aesthetic" with another very sensual and futuristic vision.

The models came out in a flash of a strobe light, in a slippery effect that suggested they had just been produced by a heavenly seamstress.

The designs were equally ingenious. A shimmering black dress with a high neck and bonnet evoked a priest's cassock, with the model holding a string of beads. His skirt was open, his leg exposed and his head tilted down provocatively.

On the other hand, a black silk gown whose embroidery shone like armor seemed part heavenly princess, part warrior. The model grabbed a bag that resembled a real orb or spiked ball. Duality was a big fashion show, exciting guests including "Prometheus" star Noomi Rapace.

Religious imagery, sadly a bit heavy at times, was splashed onto duchesse silks and organzas that were fused with inches of exposed flesh for this daring take on haute couture.

Fendi without hair? Not quite

The world's largest luxury company, LVMH, which owns Fendi, has yet to match its smaller French rival, Kering, in its groundbreaking commitment to go fur-free.

Instead, it has chosen to phase out the use of exotic fur and fur, rather than ban it outright.

One house closely associated historically with fur is the Rome-based house Fendi, whose longtime designer Karl Lagerfeld piled fur on his designs and coined the phrase "fun fur" to describe his shaggy hairstyles. Animal rights activists perennially protested outside Fendi haute couture shows in Paris attended by the AP.

Since Lagerfeld's death in 2019, there has been some evolution on that issue at Fendi, though critics say this is possibly because its younger customers are more sensitive to animal rights.

In Jones' spring Fendi couture sale, there were no animal rights protesters, and on the catwalk itself there was only a relative smear of fur.

The house said the fur was worn in only five styles this season, including an embroidered fur coat and a cape in shaved mink.

Although it's not fur-free, it's certainly a case of downsizing.

Yuima Nakazato's Monsters

Ghosts were in the air at Paris Fashion Week as Japan's Yuima Nakazato delved into terrifying chapters of Greek mythology.

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The Chimera, the fire-breathing monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake, was the initial inspiration, transposed into Thursday haute couture by a smoke machine, an eerie red light and two contemporary dancers evoking a chorus. Greek.

Fantasy was omnipresent.

Elf ears were worn on models wearing brightly colored wigs in flowing tunic-style designs held in place by primitive laces.

Elsewhere, vivid multi-colored patterns adorned a Chinese white coat. The dazzling hues, an obvious reference to dragons and fire, sometimes seemed heavy-handed, dominating the aesthetic.

Charles of Vilmorin frightens

Halloween came early for child prodigy Charles de Vilmorin.

The French designer, who shot to fame after launching his haute couture collection in April 2020 and quickly being named creative director of Rocha, was inspired this season by the waltz of death, a legend from the Middle Ages that suggests that never you can escape from the grim reaper. Fittingly, "Beetlejuice" director Tim Burton was enlisted to collaborate with the designer this season on a couture showcase that used De Vilmorin's trademark puffy silhouettes and hand-painted artwork to deadly effect.

A model's blood-red satin wrap dress in devil makeup was adorned with shrunken skeletons, reminiscent of the final scene of the 1988 film classic.

Evoking medieval dress and ending at the knee, the silk breeches conjured up images of Italian theatre. His model, wearing ballet slippers, had a loony air with red cheeks and was eerily lit in chiaroscuro.

Styles sometimes veered toward pure theatrics, as in one a bluebonnet feathered hood and slouch fringed jacket.

the rainbow of yanina

Bright color is a big couture theme this season, for better and for worse.

Russian dressmaker Yulia Yanina went over the rainbow, and possibly over the line, by taking the vivid hues of the rainbow to create her spring collection and forgetting about subtlety.

She started with a whirlwind layer of tulle over a multicolored paneled mini dress.

The rest of the exuberant display continued this color theme while picking up another of the season's trends: the 1970s.

A one-shoulder gown had loose proportions, generous lengths of material, and sported retro billowing sleeves.

As if this wasn't enough bling, a multi-tiered diamond necklace was added to the mix to make Yanina couture surely the most stunning show yet.

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