Fendi S/S 2023 Milan

[Frederic01]

Apparently his Fendi is doing quite well in terms of $$$, so it looks like this is exactly what the current clientele is looking for.

It's obvious that one of the ways in which he has financially succeeded is the transition from very luxe and expensive fabrics (which was a hallmark of Karl and Silvia's work) to very cheap and easy-to-produce fabrics: nylon, polyester, cotton, denim, etc. If you look at what they are currently selling - a lot of it is very basic and also covered in logos.

Kim is an extraordinarily clever guy in terms of how to maximise and turn a brand into a commercial juggernaut, whilst seducing the audience into believing that his work is somehow very luxe.

Just look at his Dior Men. Endless videos of marketing about the craftsmanship and the atelier and the Dior archives. And then in the store? Logo knitwear, hype beast sneakers, and lots of cheap and nasty accessories designed for Gen Z to waste money on.

 

[avonlea002]

He doesn't work alone. There is a huge team behind this. Why no one can notice how horribly made everything looks? Perfect tailoring is the bare minimum for a house which does couture.

 

[jeanclaude]

"FF" logo used to stand for "Fur Fun"; but now it just means "f*ck Fendi".

Cheap as hell! Supreme for Fendi collaboration in 3,2,1...

 

[JoCaderone]

I don’t think his Fendi sells well actually…

 

[zoom]

The fit on the collection is unforgivable. Looks like he put each model and look in a bin then rolled it around and sent them all out dizzy and confused. Jones is doing the worst.

 

[Cocteau Stone]

Wondering if the choice in greens and blues are based on Disney's "Go Away Green" and "Blending/Bye Bye Blue" as a way to make the audience ignore the poorly made garments, thinking they're great and simple...

 

[andrew]

man the fit of the knitwear tops are awful

 

[LadyJunon]

This video shows exactly what happened with that model's shoes (and how quickly she gave up) from 5:04

 

[gallianostan]

that set is making me suicidal. it's so f*cking ugly. and the clothes... unforgivable. what happened to this house? bring back the fur.

 

[90sFan]

Not much sells at their stores. People only buy old bag designs, but no clothes or new bags are making the sales. They also started to gift the bags to influencers and such people, which just screams desperation.

 

[90sFan]

that set is making me suicidal. it's so f*cking ugly. and the clothes... unforgivable. what happened to this house? bring back the fur.

Let go of Kim Jones. Things will get better ;-)

 

[90sFan]

Last season they called it Fendace, this season Fendtrashy. Both seasons it’s a big no. And also ohhhhh nooooo.
lol

 

[Kimihiro]

Not much sells at their stores. People only buy old bag designs, but no clothes or new bags are making the sales. They also started to gift the bags to influencers and such people, which just screams desperation.

I thought at least the Kim-era bags were doing well, but then thinking about it I haven’t seen anyone but influencers using Fendi Firsts or whatever. The Fendace thing was a hit but I gathered too that his RTW wasn’t moving. I wonder why they’re still mounting these extravagant shows. Is it a contract thing with Kim or they really just believe in him? I hope he doesn’t get the Dior job. He’ll have unprecedented control not even afforded to John.

 

[90sFan]

I thought at least the Kim-era bags were doing well, but then thinking about it I haven’t seen anyone but influencers using Fendi Firsts or whatever. The Fendace thing was a hit but I gathered too that his RTW wasn’t moving. I wonder why they’re still mounting these extravagant shows. Is it a contract thing with Kim or they really just believe in him? I hope he doesn’t get the Dior job. He’ll have unprecedented control not even afforded to John.

No, those bags are just gifts…
They can pump some money into him for the show to make it seem they fully behind him, but in Rome everyone knows they are so unhappy

 

[Lola701]

Not much sells at their stores. People only buy old bag designs, but no clothes or new bags are making the sales. They also started to gift the bags to influencers and such people, which just screams desperation.

They made such a drastic shift in RTW tbh. Me personally, like with Chanel, I’ve stopped buying or caring for the RTW all together. The strength of Fendi was definitely their different approach, the RTW was very dresses and outerwear focused with insane quality but above all, the prices were unheard of for a brand of that caliber and that quality. Now, it’s very logo-centered and even the precollections are not interesting.

Fendi has never been that in big in France for example but in Italy and Asia (from Japan to HK), there were people for it.
The success and growth of Fendi have been very organic, they never really pushed marketing…I always felt like they relied a lot on Karl because he did the job. No celebrity endorsement, nothing.
I’ve always believed that because Arnault spent a fortune to buy the brand, he limited the costs after that…
And I think a lot of people liked that big brand that felt almost confidential. Now they are pushing the logos and the baguette when it was the peakaboo and the great collections that allowed the brand to flourish.

Gen-Z buy merch. They don’t buy fashion. That’s why the Nicki Minaj collab or other silly things were done in a periodic time. But to build the whole thing about that can be dangerous.

 

[Kimihiro]

Fendi has never been that in big in France for example but in Italy and Asia (from Japan to HK), there were people for it.
The success and growth of Fendi have been very organic, they never really pushed marketing…I always felt like they relied a lot on Karl because he did the job. No celebrity endorsement, nothing.
I’ve always believed that because Arnault spent a fortune to buy the brand, he limited the costs after that…
And I think a lot of people liked that big brand that felt almost confidential. Now they are pushing the logos and the baguette when it was the peakaboo and the great collections that allowed the brand to flourish.

The ladies who lunch in Asia have been more receptive to Kim’s Fendi from what I can see. They love it more now with the logos! I miss it when it was more under the radar relative to Dior and Chanel. LVMH’s incessant need to megabrand everything by way of blandness destroys brands. I quite admire how Karl and Silvia quietly built Fendi to a billion without compromising things. I guess we just have to get used it.

 

[Lola701]

The ladies who lunch in Asia have been more receptive to Kim’s Fendi from what I can see. They love it more now with the logos! I miss it when it was more under the radar relative to Dior and Chanel. LVMH’s incessant need to megabrand everything by way of blandness destroys brands. I quite admire how Karl and Silvia quietly built Fendi to a billion without compromising things. I guess we just have to get used it.

Sometimes it’s brand loyalty you know. When it comes to fashion, I’m definitely loyal to designers but when it comes to accessories, I’m loyal to brands. I must say that the women in Asia can dress. I was in South Korea, Japan and Singapore recently and even when there are logos, it’s fine. They can even make Fendace look good.

The reality about LVMH is that at some point, their cash-cow can’t have amazing growth everytime. So they have to make super-champions in order for them to assure growth. That’s why ultimately I think Arnault decided to make Dior part of the group after so many years.
I think that what happened with Givenchy, Celine and Pucci proved that some brands have still a rather fragile position…Even if Celine is bouncing back and doing better. Not everybody can be a Vuitton but Dior can reach Chanel level and I think Fendi can be as big as Hermes. Givenchy has the potential to be as big as YSL. The problem today for me is the product and the brand identity that becoming a bit stale in a lot of brands…
I think Moynat is still the brand for whom Arnault doesn’t have zillions of dollars worth of ambition. It’s their Goyard in some ways…

 

[LadyJunon]

Sometimes it’s brand loyalty you know. When it comes to fashion, I’m definitely loyal to designers but when it comes to accessories, I’m loyal to brands. I must say that the women in Asia can dress. I was in South Korea, Japan and Singapore recently and even when there are logos, it’s fine. They can even make Fendace look good.

The reality about LVMH is that at some point, their cash-cow can’t have amazing growth everytime. So they have to make super-champions in order for them to assure growth. That’s why ultimately I think Arnault decided to make Dior part of the group after so many years.
I think that what happened with Givenchy, Celine and Pucci proved that some brands have still a rather fragile position…Even if Celine is bouncing back and doing better. Not everybody can be a Vuitton but Dior can reach Chanel level and I think Fendi can be as big as Hermes. Givenchy has the potential to be as big as YSL. The problem today for me is the product and the brand identity that becoming a bit stale in a lot of brands…
I think Moynat is still the brand for whom Arnault doesn’t have zillions of dollars worth of ambition. It’s their Goyard in some ways…

You just made me realize that most LVMH fashion brands have a Kering counterpart:
The Head: Louis Vuitton - Gucci
The Couture House: Dior - Balenciaga
The Protégé: Givenchy - YSL
The Artisan: Loewe/Fendi/Moynat - Bottega Veneta
The Terrible Child: Marc Jacobs/John Galliano - Alexander McQueen
The Menswear House: Berluti - Brioni
The Jeweller: Tiffany/Bulgari - Boucheron

They don't all fit into those boxes, but I find it quite funny how they both have that ecosystem.

 

[Lola701]

You just made me realize that most LVMH fashion brands have a Kering counterpart:
The Head: Louis Vuitton - Gucci
The Couture House: Dior - Balenciaga
The Protégé: Givenchy - YSL
The Artisan: Loewe/Fendi/Moynat - Bottega Veneta
The Terrible Child: Marc Jacobs/John Galliano - Alexander McQueen
The Menswear House: Berluti - Brioni
The Jeweller: Tiffany/Bulgari - Boucheron

They don't all fit into those boxes, but I find it quite funny how they both have that ecosystem.

I love how you named them… « The protégé ». It’s funny to think that you made a parallel between Givenchy and YSL because when Tom pursued and took over YSL. The goal was for YSL to be against Dior and Chanel. The idea was for Balenciaga and McQueen to kind of remain a bit more niche in terms of aesthetic and now all those brands are huge boats.

But LVMH has different targets. Bulgari is an answer to Boucheron to a certain extend even if Bulgari is bigger and has been exploited better but Tiffany is against Cartier, much like Arnault relaunched Moynat not so long after his take over of Hermes failed. But somehow the house at remained at Goyard level so far…

I must say that what has been done at Alexander McQueen is kind of admirable. Out of all the three enfants terribles, it was the house with the less « marketable » DNA. The success of both Galliano and Jacobs at Dior and Vuitton never worked in favor of their own brand and while their aesthetic were maybe more accessible on paper, they never managed to be credible in the luxury market.
Lee tried…He did perfumes, at some points they sold a lot of skull scarves and now out of the three, his brand is maybe the more glorious. Galliano unfortunately made bad business choices for his brand while at Dior…