It may perhaps be rather simplistic to present a spring/summer 2023 menswear collection themed around travel. But that’s exactly what creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi envisioned for her latest Fendi offering. And I’d argue that there’s definitely no time like the present to do just that.
To Silvia — and many of us too — time is a luxury. She describes the Fendi spring/summer 2023 menswear collection as such: “It’s about a balance of decoration and simplicity. An ageless sense of freedom to play, as we rediscover the luxury of free time.”
It’s quite a straightforward approach and one that’s a sign of our current motivations. There’s no denying that we’re seeing the light at the end of this (seemingly endless) Covid-19 tunnel with borders mostly opening up for leisure travel.
But what’s not exactly straightforward for Fendi was in the way that the spring/summer 2023 menswear collection materialised. Instead of succumbing to tropes typical of a summer travel wardrobe (you know the kind — camp-collar shirts, swim shorts, and colours in increasing brightness and intensity), Silvia opted for a consistent juxtaposition of fabrications, colours, and treatments.
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Look 21.Image: Fendi. -
Look 5.Image: Fendi. -
Look 24.Image: Fendi.
As a whole, the collection carried through a bohemian vibe that was fleshed out by the assist of denim (what’s bound to be a trend for the menswear season). On chore jackets and jeans, they were constructed panel by panel. And on some of the pieces — including the bags as per looks 1, 3 and 21 — the denim ends were frayed but consciously done so in a way that they resembled the ends of beach towels.
The denim acted as the anchor for the entire collection. Paired with everything from supple leather overshirts to structured oversized blazers to lightweight knits, they’re versatile Fendi travel companions that’ll accompany one to the beach, casual sight-seeing, and even to dressier occasions.
Look closer and you’d notice that there’s a more obvious nod to lightness (a theme throughout). The most obvious of which was the cutout shoulders on a number of tailored pieces. They were small and perhaps unnoticeable enough, but on certain pieces, helped to accentuate shoulders in a subtly dramatic way. And of course, they provided added ventilation without revealing too much as opposed to those drastically slashed, skin-bearing pieces of spring/summer 2022.
In other words: wherever you’re travelling to and whatever you’ll be doing, there’d bound to be something in the collection to cater to that.
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Look 27.Image: Fendi. -
Look 37.Image: Fendi. -
Look 31.Image: Fendi. -
Look 53.Image: Fendi. -
Look 39.Image: Fendi. -
Look 49.Image: Fendi.
It’ll be remiss of me to not mention the new bags introduced as part of the spring/summer 2023 menswear collection, especially when a number of them were pretty massive in stature. Of the new styles, the Fendi Roma bucket bag was perhaps a clear standout — a completely leather cutout of the ‘Fendi’ framed the entirety of the bag with a drawstring liner attached to keep belongings secure. Then there’s also the introduction of a petite-sized Fendi Peekaboo iSeeU in textured cowhide or the more bohemian iteration that came complete with a beaded strap (look 33).
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A denim Fendi Peekaboo in denim with an integrated water bottle holder.Image: Fendi. -
The new Fendi Roma bucket bag.Image: Fendi. -
The spring/summer 2023 menswear iteration of the Fendi Baguette.Image: Fendi.
View the full Fendi spring/summer 2023 menswear collection in the gallery below.