Maria Grazia Chiuri - Designer, Creative Director of Fendi

[Caffeine]

Genuinely curious, do long nails mix well with fur?

 

[Creative]

Genuinely curious, do long nails mix well with fur?

Yes, I think so.

I miss old Marc Jacobs to be honest. Fendi would’ve been fun with him. But he’s kinda finished.

 

[reese06]

I actually would have preferred THIS Marc at Chanel tbh

But 2025 Marc is just obsessed with Labubu dolls and ghetto *** nails so thats a definitive no.

We’re on the same page. When I say Marc, I meant this Marc. I don’t really mind the nails, fendi can and has been ghetto fabulous.

And I do mean that era of Marc. Not sure I love what or where he’s getting his inspiration from or lack thereof in his current era. But fendi could benefit from those seasonal fashion themed collections. I’m nostalgic for being able to tell exactly the season a collection is from, pre-alessandro at Gucci

 

[Caffeine]

Yes, I think so.

I miss old Marc Jacobs to be honest. Fendi would’ve been fun with him. But he’s kinda finished.

I still have a teal embroidered skirt from his 2005 collection, I think. Can never part ways with it.

 

[RosesAreRed]

Yes, I think so.

I miss old Marc Jacobs to be honest. Fendi would’ve been fun with him. But he’s kinda finished.

Wow Marc for Fendi is such a good idea. Why I never thought of that! That would be actually PERFECT!

 

[Lola701]

I miss old Marc Jacobs to be honest. Fendi would’ve been fun with him. But he’s kinda finished.

I’m not even sure because he did that collab with Kim Jones and it wasn’t that great.

Maybe Marc needs to go the fun back at his house. Maybe he needs to show in Paris instead. Because the issue is more his isolation to me…

 

[jeanclaude]

I’m not even sure because he did that collab with Kim Jones and it wasn’t that great.

Maybe Marc needs to go the fun back at his house. Maybe he needs to show in Paris instead. Because the issue is more his isolation to me…

Sniffing nail polish 24/7 while playing with Labubus also could have affected him...

 

[RosesAreRed]

I mean yeah it can be fendi furs out of LABABUBUs

 

[Nimsay]

Marc just feels too Warholian to helm a house like Fendi - his whole vocabulary is rooted in irony, pop nostalgia, and self-reference. That kind of postmodern cleverness worked in the 2000s, but luxury now has shifted toward sincerity and craft.

 

[Creative]

Marc just feels too Warholian to helm a house like Fendi - his whole vocabulary is rooted in irony, pop nostalgia, and self-reference. That kind of postmodern cleverness worked in the 2000s, but luxury now has shifted toward sincerity and craft.

Sincerity as in rising prices and decreasing quality? Or you mean saying something is a limited “numbered” edition but when it works producing more? Or you mean talking about sustainability but producing out of Europe to reduce costs? 😅

 

[Nimsay]

By sincerity, I don’t mean sustainability signaling or limited edition gimmicks - I mean conviction in form and archetype. Gen Z understands what clothes are supposed to be; they want those ideas treated seriously. Balenciaga pushed irony to the point of collapse - selling cheap, banal things at absurd prices just to prove it could. That era’s done. The next wave wants meaning, not mockery.

 

[Creative]

By sincerity, I don’t mean sustainability signaling or limited edition gimmicks - I mean conviction in form and archetype. Gen Z understands what clothes are supposed to be; they want those ideas treated seriously. Balenciaga pushed irony to the point of collapse - selling cheap, banal things at absurd prices just to prove it could. That era’s done. The next wave wants meaning, not mockery.

I wouldn’t call that sincerity though. I know what you mean, now there’s a trend of classic, old, “good” values… but wouldn’t call it sincerity.

Although if you see Gucci, it’s kind of the same cosplay in disguise and many people are into it. That kind of irony… I get it’s not as blatant as in Balenciaga, but still people are receptive to that kind of circus.

I do believe that there’s still a longing for a little bit of fun… And MJ was kind of a KL for that in his Vuitton years.

I feel like taking fashion too seriously, beige, the Row… is also démodé.

 

[Nimsay]

Cynicism is fading.

Maria Grazia Chiuri’s sincerity shines through in her luxurious, wearable clothes that don’t prompt the wearer to question their socioeconomic status while tucking their black card into a meticulously crafted Doritos clutch.

Fendi’s RTW feels disconnected from its iconic handbags, with many handbag customers sticking to the tiny selection of logo knits. Maria is set to close this divide. For La Fendi Donna, who effortlessly spends $7k 4 times a year on Fendi bags, shoes and accessories, a timeless perfectly crafted $3,5k daydress by Maria is a natural complement.

Some may underestimate Fendi’s brand power. In Palm Beach, the word is clear that its Fendi not Loewe. People I know have said that Loewe feels like Miami Beach - newer and less proven - while Fendi embodies Palm Beach with its decades-long legacy of exotic elegance. When Maria’s RTW collections hit the boutiques, customers will rush in and drop dollars - justified by Fendi’s heritage.

Im all the way in on Fendi Donna - but Fendi Uomo will be a dud unless we get someone else to do it.

 

[Phuel]

Sniffing nail polish 24/7 while playing with Labubus also could have affected him...

...Midlife-crisis gays LOL

Marc is clearly not in the same creative place now as he was as when he headed Vuitton. Unless there’s a huge clientele wishing to dress in caricatural tribute designs to Comme and Rick with a Fendi label, then he’s not the one for Fendi. Designers’ tastes change with time, and as neat as Marc’s Comme/Rick tributes are visually, it’s all still such clownwear— albeit gorgeously-made clownwear. You know, designers— even our personal favs, will have their time, and that time passes, and if they possess a self-awareness and humility instead of over-inflated ego, they will gracefully bow out before they’re revealed as simply coasting off their name, depleted of any creative vision that serves a customer other than their own whims. I’ve mentioned this before that I’m so glad that my fashion loves— Helmut Lang and Tom Ford, have wisely retired rather than overstaying their welcome. Just looking at Marc’s currentday sensibility while hawking cheap totes favoured by less than savoury types, this might be the right time to bowing out gracefully… Or, learn from someone like Thom Browne. Besides being maybe the only designer whose runway branding is so different from his RTW retail offering, he’s one of those designers that I end up incorporating into my wardrobe, not because of the label— but because (aside from the obnoxious 3 stripes merch) the separates that I’m drawn to are just straightup the fashion equivalent of premium, wholesome comfort food. His Prince of Wales and seersucker suitings are the most gorgeous version of the classics ever.

Anyway, about Maria Grazia: Her designs are the fashion equivalent of wholesome comfort food in a politely-decorated restaurant. And I mean that in the best way. Ever since I was fortunate to see in-hand one of her fencing leather corsets, I was won over by the quality/construction/investment of her RTW separates. Understandable that her bland/traditional/conservative sensibility is too mundane for many that need fashion in all caps. At her best, her aesthetic is to not stand out but one of quiet confidence and a reserved investment to never dress a woman like a pageant clown/drag queen/brand walking billboard, and I suppose many customers also appreciate that in a fashion era that’s become so comically, desperately juvenile, her taste is one that will endure the fickle fashion times.

My issue with her Dior has always been the boring casting, even more bland styling and bloated looks, and the insufferable showings that look more a chore to get through than a creative vision experience: The only impression I have of her Dior shows resemble gormless private school girls and/or their mums all looking the same; in flat footwear; accompanied by the most wretched performance art nonsense distracting the runway. It’s unfortunate that the RTW gets lost in the mundane shows, the polite wallpaper that’s the campaigns and those matronly logo’d totes and merch. Hope that with Fendi, the casting/styling/presentation is renewed and worlds apart from her Dior— but doubt it, since her version of fashion for feminists will always be gormless schoolgirls/their mums in flat footwear and sensible styling that all look like they hate fashion. She and whichever team that branded her Dior needs to be barred from the Fendi. (Perhaps consider Fabien/Karl/Steven for her Fendi debut’s branding…???)

February couldn’t come soon enough for the inevitable TFS meltdown that will be far far far more interesting than Maria Grazia’s Fendi LOOL