Kim Jones' Latest "Friend of Fendi" Collaboration Confirmed To Be With Stefano Pilati

Earlier in September, it was reported that Kim Jones would be eyeing a collaboration with Stefano Pilati for a collaboration for Fendi. The news has now been confirmed with the release of the latest “Friend of Fendi” collection.

Pilati is applying his “very Italian” aesthetic to the Rome-founded brand. Adding his tailoring touch and flapper energy to the upcoming Fendi Fall collaboration, the designer fits in right at home at the Roman fashion house for the new collection. Under the “Friends of Fendi” banner, Pilati and Jones’ joint collection is slated to make its way to Fendi boutiques across the world and online starting towards the end of the month. WWD initially broke the news that Jones was planning to work with Pilati. Jones said, “He is a friend, an inspiration and a designer for modern times — always looking to the future, asking questions and proffering solutions.” When it comes to working with Fendi, Pialti compared Roman to Milanese style, “There is a freedom in the Roman style that Milan does not have. It is a sunnier city where everything is more — more feminine, more masculine as well as bohemian and eccentric.”

Since Jones joined the house of Fendi, he has brought along a string of contributors including Donatella Versace and Marc Jacobs. Jones is currently the artistic director of haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur collections for womenswear at Fendi, while Venturini Fendi continues as the artistic director of Fendi accessories and menswear and Delettrez Fendi as the jewelry creative director. Pilati told WWD the inspirations behind the collection, “I wanted to celebrate the Fendis — as I always celebrate women. I asked myself, ‘So what now? What is my heritage?’ All of these women are beyond and it was logical for me and Silvia to talk about them, to talk about our shared heritage of women. I love Silvia and Delfina. I love the way they move, speak and discuss. You learn and you respect.”

The collection spans across menswear and womenswear. With his distinctive tailoring, Pilati ensures that each piece celebrates freedom, under the guise of the Roaring Twenties as the overarching theme. Pilati said, “There is a sense of flux and transition in the silhouettes themselves. Things are undefined and unfinished. It is a question of defining things now, of being open, open to new ways of defining is important both for the clothes and the attitude. “I am so touched by this opportunity that Kim, Silvia and Fendi have given me to be so much myself. I am very honest in what I am proposing and I am humbled by what I am doing.”

“Friends of Fendi” is the company’s “new way to introduce special projects and collections that differ from Fendi’s main collections and are achieved with outside designers, houses and organizations.” The upcoming collection will launch in Fendi boutiques globally and online starting on October 26. Look out for store events happening in London, Dubai, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

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