There's an interesting trend going on right now for normality. You could blame it on the style press' obsession with 'normcore', or trace it back to the pioneer of most new ideas, Miuccia Prada, who championed boring while the rest of the fashion pack were still flouncing around in digital print and shouty slogans. Maybe it's simply a sign of the times - are we bored of flash, self-promotion and throw away fashion? Would we rather spend on functional, hard-working pieces? Well the team at Fendi certainly seem to think so. Average is beautiful in Silvia Venturini Fendi's eyes for S/S 15.
The collection read like an ode to the urban commuter. It responded to the essentials he needs to go about his travels, from a basic jean jacket or pair of slim tailored trousers, to a crisp suit and zip-through jacket. Some models even came out wearing headphones, a collaboration with Beats by Dr. Dre, the ultimate statement that this collection was about the needs and preferences of the individual wearer, rather than the visual desires of surrounding onlookers. But then don't we read all the time about how much more self-centred we're all becoming, retreating into our digital worlds, plugging in our earphones and switching off to the real world. That was inferred here too in those pixels that adorned a bomber (they may have looked digital, but they were actually constructed from tiny guanteria leather squares) and the 'bright idea' emoticon-esque fuzzy light bulb charms.
It's hard to ever fault collections when they just resemble the clothes normal men wear (even high fashion garb needs enough relevance to be worn and bought, after all), but it was odd and even jarring to see such a subdued celebration of ordinary from a house that is known for opulence and fun (remember that real fur runway from last season? - what a U-turn). Perhaps that's why the few pieces that felt a tad more joyful or experimental - those ornate bombers, for example - felt the most authentic and promising.
