Distinguished by iconic women that define their own codes within society, the Bloomsbury Set and the House of Fendi share many traits in common, one being the connection with Kim Jones. The British designer spent his formative years in Lewes, near Monk’s House owned by Virginia Woolf and Charleston Farmhouse owned by Vanessa Bell, locations where the Bloomsbury Set, a group of British writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists, frequently met outside of London. This proximate impact on the artistic director is especially evidenced through his Spring Summer 2021 haute couture debut for Fendi, which contained an abundance of allusions to Woolf’s seminal 1928 novel Orlando. By integrating the Fendi women into his beloved memory of the Bloomsbury Set, Kim Jones weaves a love letter that stems from his early aesthetic cultivations to the House that exemplifies his chosen family.
The Fendi Set is divided into three sections in dialogue with one another, with hauntingly dreamlike analogue photography by Nikolai von Bismarck juxtaposed with diary entries and letters, notably between Virginia Woolf and her lover Vita Sackville-West, interspersing the visual narrative. The book’s opening section explores the bucolic English countryside from which the Bloomsbury Set and Kim Jones himself both originate. The following section is set in Paris, amidst the frenzy of the previously mentioned haute couture debut, with von Bismarck capturing the collection worn by the illustrious cast of models including Demi Moore, Naomi Campbell, Kate and her daughter Lila Moss and sisters Leonetta and Delfina Delettrez, curator of A#14. The closing section takes place none other than in Rome, featuring three generations of Fendi women – Anna, Silvia and Delfina – as photographed in the Villa Medici, drawing parallels to the Bloomsbury Set whose many members spent time living in Rome. The Fendi Set charters the path of Kim Jones while honouring the various remarkable women who serve as beacons along the way.
The Fendi Set includes text contributions from Kim Jones, Jerry Stafford, Tilda Swinton and Bloomsbury scholar Dr. Mark Hussey.