kim jones at Fendi Is a Fresh Coup for Italy’s Fashion Capital
It was cappuccino o’clock this sunny morning in Milan when Insta-feeds across the city lit up with the intel: Kim Jones is joining Fendi. By the time the details had been established—that Jones will assume the artistic directorship of Fendi’s womenswear collections while remaining designer at Dior Men—it was apparent that this new role is big news for both the designer Kim Jones and Italy’s fashion capital.
Whether at Dunhill, Louis Vuitton, or Dior, Jones has a long and consistent pedigree of artistic and commercial success in the menswear arena. Yet the Englishman has long wished to translate his vision to womenswear, and before joining Dior two years ago was understood to have received approaches to do exactly that elsewhere. Today’s appointment might appear highly unusual in that Jones now has designing gigs across womenswear and menswear for two different houses, however the connections between them run deep. Both are part of the LVMH group and in Pietro Beccari—Dior’s CEO since 2018, and before that CEO of Fendi since 2012—they have another significant common factor.
Thus, following a respectful hiatus, Jones will succeed Karl Lagerfeld in a role the German held from the mid-1960s, during which time he was instrumental in helping the Fendi family transform their Roman fur house into a globally known maison most especially famous for its Lagerfeld-designed double-F logo.
As well as bringing heat to Fendi, Jones’s new role means that Milan is now on a roll. Later this month, Raf Simons’s first outing as co-creative director alongside Miuccia Prada will hand Milan Fashion Week the most anticipated debut of the spring 2021 season. Jones’s move to Via Solari alongside Silvia Venturini Fendi next February means Milan will have that privilege wrapped up for fall 2021 too. Exciting times, even if you take your cappuccino decaffeinato.
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