For her first Couture collection for FENDI, Maria Grazia Chiuri places desire at the heart of her creative vision. These are not simply garments, but carefully conceived designs that restore value to the body as living matter, shaped by feelings, intentions and attitudes. The collection begins with the idea that clothing can accompany the complexity of those who wear it, acknowledging the body not as a fixed form, but as something alive and constantly in motion.
Fashion, in this context, becomes a reminder that human beings are endlessly driven by desire. The possibility of discovering or creating something new remains ever present, carrying with it the promise that it could be the most extraordinary thing of all. To this idea of desire, Chiuri adds sensuality, eroticism, freedom and pleasure, giving shape to a vision that feels instinctive, open and deeply human.
A cinematic memory of Rome
The collection evokes the image of an innocent yet sensual freedom through the figure of a young German woman moving through Rome at the end of the 1970s. This reference draws on the fashion film Histoire d’eau, Jacques de Bascher’s ironic evocation of Histoire d’O by Pauline Réage, commissioned by Karl Lagerfeld for his first FENDI ready-to-wear collection in 1977.
That cinematic memory becomes more than a historical quotation. It offers an atmosphere in which sensuality exists without malice, where elegance and freedom move together with natural ease.
Clothes that move with the body
Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Couture collection follows the body rather than attempting to shape or restrain it. Every silhouette accompanies movement, whether bold or more restrained, allowing garments to respond naturally to the rhythm of the wearer.
Lightness defines pieces such as the black-and-white striped chiffon creations, which glide gently across the body instead of restricting it. The kimono outline, applied to jackets and outerwear for both women and men, becomes an expression of fluid dressing through materials including velvet and grain de poudre. The effect is effortless, without force or rigidity.
The same approach appears in dresses that sculpt the body through draping alone, eliminating the need for a corset while maintaining a strong and defined silhouette.
The dialogue of the ateliers
Chiuri brings FENDI’s different ateliers into conversation, presenting them as living places where knowledge, craftsmanship and technical expertise meet and continue to evolve together. Within this collaborative environment, couture becomes both a magical and a scientific language, constantly reinterpreted through shared experience and experimentation.
Many of the collection’s pieces are built through subtraction. Fur is transformed into something as light as a feather, with black and white stripes held together by delicate tulle. The image is that of a Venus in fur, advancing with sensual confidence and playful spirit.
Tulle also forms the structure of cloaks and capes traced with arabesques that become leaves, feathers and flowers crafted from leather, fur and fabric. On men’s shoulders, these creations suggest blankets, shelter and even a hut, while the variety of fur can recall the delicate forms of butterflies. Leather, meanwhile, draws labyrinth-like patterns across the white surface of a double cashmere coat.
Couture as experimentation
Chiuri approaches her role with a broad creative vision that knows no boundaries. In this perspective, Couture becomes one of the most contemporary forms of experimentation in clothing, sustained by a dialogue that listens closely to the bodies and minds that inhabit it.
Her first FENDI Couture collection proposes a way of dressing founded on freedom, sensuality and collaboration, where craftsmanship and imagination meet in garments designed to move with the people who wear them.
