Fashion designer Kim Jones brings Virginia Woolf chic to Paris

Kim Jones' debut collection for Fendi as a womenswear designer tapped the bohemian, literary world of Virginia Woolf on Wednesday, bringing bookish glamour to his first haute couture runway show.

Fendi, part of the LVMH group, named Jones last September, in a move expected to inject a strong dose of British cool into the brand known for its Roman flair and unapologetic use of fur.

 Bella Hadid wears a creation for Fendi's Spring-Summer 2021 Haute Couture fashion collection. AFP

Wednesday's show, held live at the Palais Brongniart in Paris but with only a virtual audience, featured supermodel Kate Moss and her daughter Lila Grace.

The A-list line-up also included Demi Moore, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cara Delevingne and Bella Hadid, who sauntered down the elaborate, modern runway, pausing to pose in glassed-in garden enclosures.

  US model Christy Turlington presents a creation of British designer Kim Jones. AFP

The Spring/Summer 2021 collection channelled the early 20th century — flowing capes, high collars and elaborate embroidery — with an added modern vibe.

Jones said he was inspired by the Bloomsbury Group, the collective of London writers and intellectuals who included the modernist Woolf, for a collection in which "exquisite feminity and masculine androgyny appear as fluid choices rather than innate realities".

Both male and female models — some holding books — showcased the womenswear collection, marked by plunging black satin decolletages, elaborate beading and elongated silhouettes.

 British models Kate Moss (L) and her daughter Lila Grace Moss present creations of British designer Kim Jones. AFP

A diaphanous grey silk tunic paired with tight python boots combined the ethereal with the animal, as the high Victorian collar of a gown in damask rose showed off bare shoulders in a daring combination.

In his show notes, Jones quoted Woolf's "Orlando".

 US actress Demi Moore presents a creation of Kim Jones. AFP

"Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world's view of us."

He paid tribute to his predecessor, with monograms taken from Lagerfeld's final collection beaded onto boots, as well as to the Fendi family.

Also among the models were Leonetta and Delfina Fendi, the daughters of Silvia Venturini Fendi, the granddaughter of the brand's founders who still heads up the menswear and accessories lines.

Agence France-Press