Amid ancient Roman ruins, Fendi remembers designer Lagerfeld

ROME (Reuters) - On a catwalk overlooking the Colosseum, Italian luxury label Fendi paid homage to Karl Lagerfeld late on Thursday with a fashion show of 54 new looks to mark the late designer’s 54-year tenure at the brand.

The veteran designer joined Fendi in 1965 and kept on collaborating with the Rome-based label until his death in February, aged 85.

He formed a creative duo with the founding family’s scion Silvia Venturini Fendi, who looked to Lagerfeld’s archive sketches for the couture Fall/Winter 2019-2020 line.

An all-white suit with flared jacket sleeves and wide-leg trousers kicked off the “The Dawn of Romanity” show on the Palatine Hill in the brand’s home city.



Models wore coats with fur trimmings, sheer skirts and palazzo trousers decorated with marble-like prints.

Fur coats in black or brown were worn over cropped bra tops and skirts or shorts while slim long dresses with pointy shoulders had cut-outs throughout.

Art deco prints adorned coats, tops and dresses which at first came in black and earthy tones of brown and bronze before moving onto soft shades of lilac, pistachio, rose quartz and yellow.

Evening dresses were full-length, with geometric straps at the front and in dark colors. There were also soft feminine frocks, some embroidered with floral or wheat patterns. Voluminous organza ballgowns wrapped up the show.

Models’ pageboy-like hairstyles, large sunglasses, boots and large golden hoop earrings nodded to the 1970s. The looks were accessorized with fur versions of Fendi’s baguette handbag.