For nearly four decades, Maria Grazia Chiuri has woven feminist storytelling into her designs. Most prominently in her tenure at Dior, the Italian designer has drawn inspiration from icons like Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, Spanish flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya, and historic monarch Mary, Queen of Scots. It seems Chiuri’s penchant for finding a fine balance between feminism and romanticism has not slowed in her new role as chief creative officer of Fendi. The label’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection was a shining example, as Chiuri tapped Italian pop culture star Raffaella Carrà as her muse.
“Raffaella’s performance with [Adriano] Celentano was an exhilarating collective dance, pervaded by this vitality — bodies that work and perform,” says Chiuri in a recorded video posted on Fendi’s Instagram account, referencing the famous 1974 performance on Milleluci, the popular Italian television program co-hosted by Carrà. “This spectacular performance, in this theater of mirrors, [showed] that they are the actors, where we all interact with one another. And I firmly believe that we exist in relation to others, to what surrounds us.”
Indeed, Carrà’s sensual Italian style — largely defined by fitted, body-hugging catsuits, high-neck mesh crop-tops, bell-bottomed trousers, and glittering bralettes — was noted in Chiuri’s latest collection. The designer sent models down the runway in bejeweled ‘70s-style maxi dresses that could easily have been spotted at an all-night bender in Studio 54 some 50 years prior. The aforementioned signature catsuit embraced by Carrà was reimagined as a black long-sleeved jersey style accented with shoulder cutouts and silver grommet studs.
Underwear as outerwear (a prevailing theme across all cities this fashion month) was heavily present, showcased in satin sets consisting of long lace-trimmed shorts and coordinating triangle bra tops in soft teal, peach, and classic black. Strategic exposure and body exploration were definitely the name of the game here: In her IG recording, Chiuri nods to E. E. Cummings’ poem I Like My Body When It Is With Your.
“We began with conversations about undergarments, our bodies, and then what happens when we share our body with someone else. [It became a reflection] on femininity, and thus also on the Fendi sisters,” she explains.
This notion materialized in plunging necklines, revealing bare chest or the sexy peek of a lace bra, sheer chiffon dresses and fringed tunics exposing cheeky unmentionables, and thigh-high playsuits with side cutouts to showcase one’s natural curves.
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“Of course, fashion is shaped by the body, as is always said,” read the official show notes. “But [Chiuri] wants to reaffirm how in this powerful relationship, the most important thing for her is to surrender to that sense of emotional freedom that, when designing the collection, becomes an interpretation of the desires of today’s bodies: strong and fragile at the same time, in their relationship with one another and where masculine and feminine meet.”
Ahead, see Fendi’s ultra-sexy take on spring dressing.
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