While Haute Couture Week may seem like the prime opportunity for the fashion world to play dress up, with designs leaning farther and farther into the world of costume than anything else, this season, Kim Jones, Fendi’s artistic director, chose otherwise. 

A more approachable take on the traditions of couture, Fendi Couture’s Spring/Summer 2023 show celebrated the simplicities of today, turning the inner world of lingerie into an outer world of formal wear. The collection holds a certain levity as undergarments flow into evening gowns and carefully draped garments turn mundane into mythical. 

Sticking to a lighter palette of mostly cream, gray, pink  and the occasional purple tone, Jones creates a dreamlike collection which is “not just about being looked at, but about being lived in,” as stated in the show’s press release. 

With a medley of shorter dresses and runway-grazing gowns, the collection is an ode to femininity, to the almost mystifying experience of finding a dress, an ode to the dress. From a slip-dress-turned-gown with detachable, wings sleeves to a shiny mini skirt moment, Fendi masterfully strikes a balance between nonchalance and intentional imperfection, resulting in nothing more than a unbridled display of human perfection. 

And yet, despite this exhibition of this aforementioned perfection, Jones creates the sense that couture is not just about the pieces themselves, but yet, the people behind them. “It’s a celebration of the ateliers and the craftspeople who realize these garments, the intense work and emotional commitment to each piece that exists for both maker and wearer,” said Jones in a press release. This commitment is clear throughout the show with the models gliding along the catwalk, seemingly grounded by the magnitude of the pieces draped on their bodies. 

The show closed with a trio of show-stopping pieces, each carefully crocheted — if one can even compare the form — out of exceptionally delicate Japanese yarn, known as Fuuga. With this nod to delicacy, Fendi leaves audiences with the reminder that beauty is transformed from our innermost world to our external world.