Kim Jones is Fendi womenswear’s new artistic director. Photo: Brett Lloyd/Courtesy of Fendi
Renowned English fashion designer Kim Jones is set to join Fendi as the new artistic director of its womenswear which includes haute couture, ready-to-wear, and fur collections. According to the Italian fashion house, Jones will be joining its creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi to work alongside her as she continues to create the house’s accessories and menswear collections.
While Jones is said to simultaneously maintain his role as artistic director of Dior Men, this new position will mark his first foray into creating womenswear. “I would like to profoundly thank Monsieur Arnault, Pietro Beccari, Serge Brunschwig, and Silvia Venturini Fendi for this incredible opportunity,” said Jones in a statement. “Working across two such prestigious houses is a true honor as a designer and to be able to join the house of Fendi as well as continuing my work at Dior Men’s is a huge privilege,” he added.
Venturini Fendi stated: “My warmest welcome to Kim, to whom I am bound by deep respect and friendship. I am looking forward to take the Fendi universe to the next level with him.” The Italian designer helmed the fashion house’s ready-to-wear and haute couture collections for women following the death of its previous creative director Karl Lagerfeld in February 2019. Ahead of the haute couture show for the FW19 season in Rome, Venturini Fendi shared with Vogue Arabia that it was a challenge she was happy to undertake. “Of course, I feel pressure, as with every collection, and I have a big responsibility, but I’m used to it,” she said. “I was well-trained and I’m quite confident of what I’ve learned.”
According to Fendi, Jones will present his first ready-to-wear collection for the label in the Fall/Winter 2021-22 during Milan Fashion Week in February. A graduate of the MA Fashion course at Central St Martins College of Art and Design, Jones first launched his eponymous label in 2003. He later held the position of style director of the men’s ready-to-wear division at Louis Vuitton in 2011 before going on to become the creative director of Dior Homme in 2018.
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