What happens when underwear stops being treated as underwear? At Fendi, Maria Grazia Chiuri spent Spring/Summer 2027 finding out.
Bras, boxers, slips and lace formed the starting point of the collection, moving between tailoring, eveningwear and everyday clothes. Lace bras appeared beneath open shirts and jackets, shorts borrowed their proportions from lingerie, and sheer dresses revealed the layers underneath. Underwear became another part of getting dressed.
For her second ready-to-wear collection since returning to Fendi, where she began her career in 1989, Chiuri looked to Raffaella Carrà. The Italian singer, dancer and television star caused a sensation when she exposed her midriff on national television in 1970. Crop tops, sequins and catsuits followed, helping establish an image built around freedom, movement and the body.
Carrà’s influence appeared without turning the collection into costume. Sparkle, fringe and fluid silhouettes carried traces of the 1970s, while the mirrored runway referenced Carrà and Adriano Celentano’s 1974 performance on Milleluci. A line from E. E. Cummings’ I Like My Body When It Is With Your appeared on the invitation, establishing the body as a theme before the show began.
On the runway, delicate lace met distressed denim, bras sat beneath structured jackets and slips became dresses. Sequinned pieces appeared alongside simpler cotton and denim, while transparency exposed the construction of each look. The contrast kept lingerie from feeling precious or reserved for evening: a lace bra could sit as easily with a jacket as a slip could become the foundation of an entire outfit.
That makes the idea easy to translate beyond the collection’s more revealing looks. Lingerie shapes can become layers, lace can move into daywear and pieces usually hidden beneath an outfit can become part of its construction. How much of them remains visible is almost secondary.
For Fendi, the first layer no longer has to disappear once the rest of the outfit goes on. Underwear has officially entered the wardrobe.
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