September 20, 2013, Furs, Worthy of Their Close-Up By CATHY HORYN Fendi is based in Rome, where the legendary movie studio Cinecittà is. And many directors have lived or worked in Rome. So it makes sense that the house of Fendi, which turns 90 in 2015, should have a long history of making furs for the movies. But who knew? “Nobody knows, right?” said Pietro Beccari, the chief executive of Fendi, elated at the prospect of introducing the public to a relatively unknown facet of the company’s heritage. On Thursday evening in Milan, an exhibition, “Making Dreams: Fendi and the Cinema,” opened at Cinema Manzoni, a 66-year-old movie house restored to its former splendor for the occasion. Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda created the exhibition, and it’s unbelievable that they did it in about five months’ time. It is a compact, multilayered presentation that illuminates the central idea, Fendi’s film work, but also leaves you feeling that you have been inside a movie. If you are going to be near Milan between now and Oct. 6, you should consider seeing the exhibition. It’s rewarding (and it’s free). Mr. Kinmonth is the accomplished designer of many fashion exhibitions, including “AngloMania” at the Met in New York, and the Valentino retrospective in Rome in 2007. Much of his time in recent years has been spent directing opera. Let’s just say the man stays busy. Among his next projects is a full-length version of “Raymonda” for the Royal Swedish Ballet, for which he is designing 600 costumes. The centerpiece of the Fendi exhibition is a series of display pavilions connected by a glass walkway. The structure is set above the seats in the main part of Cinema Manzoni, with different levels, so as you walk from one display to the next you have a view through the glass catwalk of the theater. It’s a little hairy at first. The set design incorporates the sense of being a moviegoer and at the same time it gives a perspective of being on a movie sound stage. For a large curving wall, Mr. Kinmonth used plywood, evoking a behind-the-scenes view of a set. He also created a 10-minute film with Fendi’s furs at Cinecittà. As you leave one part of the walkway, you can stop in a seat and watch the film, and then return to the glass path. “Pietro is really presenting the archaeology of the house,” Mr. Kinmonth said. That’s an apt description of both Mr. Beccari’s vision for the brand and the exhibition’s multilevel design. Mr. Kinmonth said that Fendi “basically had the pieces in the air” when Mr. Beccari approached him about an exhibit. Fendi had paid for the restoration of Luchino Visconti’s “Conversation Piece,” and also had plans to show a documentary of the 1974 film, which starred Burt Lancaster and Silvana Mangano. Mr. Kinmonth and Mr. Monfreda began with those pieces. The exhibition opens with a remarkable portrait by Snowdon of the five Fendi sisters swathed in fur coats. You’re struck by the lavish scale of the coats — they don’t make ’em like that anymore — and by a certain imperiousness of the famous sisters. They sort of took over the world for a moment. Ms. Mangano is also a star of the show, or, rather, her likeness is. Mr. Kinmonth had four mannequins made with her visage, and they are dressed in the actress’s furs and other garments from “Conversation Piece,” and posed in movie seats. You look down upon them from the catwalk, as if eavesdropping. Fendi, by the way, has preserved all of its film costumes in its archives, along with relevant documents. One pavilion displays furs from six movies, including Michelle Pfeiffer’s high-collared wrap in “The Age of Innocence” and Madonna’s fur in “Evita.” Still another pavilion, surrounded by fat black rings (they’re coated with Swarovski elements), is a contemporary Fendi fur by Karl Lagerfeld, on which a montage of images is projected. The white fur is a screen for special effects — exactly what Mr. Lagerfeld does in his fashion. The last part of the exhibition is a mini theater, so visitors can feast on Ms. Mangano in the fully restored “Conversation Piece.” Slide Show: Fendi spring 2014 collection Slide Show: Milan fashion week, spring 2014 collections
Posted on: Sat, 21 Sep 2013 04:45:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015