The new Fendi collection from Karl Lagerfeld is a look that's perfect for the working woman, writes Deirdre McQuillan. It's a style that can be easily copied.
There are times when a collection strikes just the right note and the right mood. You look at the clothes, the accessories, the way they're mixed and matched, and covet them all. The current, much lauded, spring offering from Fendi, from the masterful hand of Karl Lagerfeld, is one such collection. The crisp laces, pretty white dresses, slim lines and slick city wear show a lightness of touch and a forthright approach to contemporary dressing that is not hard to copy. It has been a big commercial success. The London boutique Browns, for example, bought the entire collection.
Lace can be difficult to manage, but here it is sporty and fresh with a clean, modern look. Backstage after its debut in Milan, Lagerfeld's muse, Amanda Harlech, was dressed in a turn-of-the-century Irish crochet lace bolero, found in a vintage store in Biarritz. Could the collection have had an Irish inspiration?
Old lace was worked laboriously by hand; its modern equivalent is often laser-cut, giving perfect uniformity and decorative effect to any kind of fabric, whether natural or synthetic, plastic or pliable. In Fendi's collection, decorative hemlines on light summer sheaths, for example, were zany new applications of antique patterns. A recurring motif in the accessories was the buckle. A bold buckle belt cinched the waist below the bust or across the hips, and a tiny buckle decorated the colourful patent peep-toed sandals that came in in black, red, blue or white - simple Fendi flats for an easy stride.
Other daywear for the working woman mixed high-waisted slimline pants with sheer shirts and cropped jackets, while delicate layered dresses in sorbet shades of mint or raspberry were cool and summery. These clothes may be expensive, but it's relatively easy to copy the lines of the slightly Spanish matador look. Anchor a good-looking belt across a high-waisted skirt, top it with a lace blouse and shrug on a cropped jacket.
To Irish customers, the Fendi brand is best known for its handbags, such as the Spy and Baguette, refreshed each season in new fabrics and decorations. The current season's crop with their strong buckle motif can be found in Fendi's Brown Thomas, Grafton Street, Dublin boutique where the clothes, though not on sale in Ireland, can be specially ordered for those who want them. The Fendi shoe collection is sold in Fitzpatricks in Grafton Street as well as in Brown Thomas.