Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Fendi marked a triumphant homecoming to the Roman house where she began her career in 1989 before moving on to Valentino and Dior. But she didn’t want to make the moment all about herself. The phrase “Meno Io, Più Noi/Less I, More Us” was spelled out in Italian and English on the runway, reflecting Chiuri’s belief that fashion is the product of many hands, not a single creative genius. At Dior, she championed female artists as collaborators, making their voices central to her creative ecosystem—and she brought not just that ethos but some of the same artists to Fendi. The fall 2026 collection included a collaboration with the estate of Mirella Bentivoglio, the pioneering Italian poet and visual artist featured in a 2019 exhibition supported by Dior, and the Italian performance artist and competitive archer SAGG Napoli, who memorably shot arrows down the runway during Chiuri’s Dior spring 2025 show.
Founded in 1925 as a leather-goods house, Fendi built its reputation on craftsmanship; in ready-to-wear, it is especially associated with two signatures: the slip dress and the statement coat. Chiuri revisited those archetypes with what the show notes described as “a return to desire and to bodies,” a deceptively simple proposition in a fashion system that has often put fantasy over lived experience. Her fluid satin and sheer dresses were cut for movement and layered with matching boy shirts and bralettes—a practical, body-aware gesture that echoed her work at Dior. At a moment when attitudes toward fur have shifted, she wisely proposed upcycled versions, collaging existing coats with master tailors. Rounding out Chiuri’s perfect capsule wardrobe were softly structured suits, like the one she wore to take her bow, and slogan t-shirts bearing messages such as NOIa, Bentivoglio’s wordplay on the Italian words for “we” and “boredom,” and SAGG Napoli’s teamwork mantra, “Loyal but not obedient.”
Returning to her roots as an accessories designer, Chiuri put the spotlight on Fendi’s most iconic bag: the Baguette, first developed in 1997, when she was part of the accessories design team led by Silvia Venturini Fendi. She reimagined the shoulder bag in multiple inventive iterations, featuring beading, paillettes, embroidery, animal prints, crackle leather, and saddle stitching that celebrated the house’s savoir-faire. The collection also included limited-edition “verbal object” jewelry, conceived by Bentivoglio in the 1970s and now realized in close collaboration with her estate. The opening look featured one particularly striking piece: a silver earring—a miniature ear suspended inside a ring—repurposed as a pendant necklace.
