Presented at Milan fashion week earlier this month, the Fendi autumn/winter 2024 menswear collection explored opposite realms. From celebrating the great outdoors to the signature urban sophistication of the brand, Silvia Venturini Fendi – creative director of accessories and menswear – revised her “classics” with a distinctive contemporary flair.

The juxtaposition of the motif of the great outdoors and the brand’s signature urban sophistication represented but one of many contrasts marking the Fendi AW24 menswear collection

Nods to HRH Anne, Princess Royal’s style and “Balmoral-core” appear in the form of waterproof waxed jackets and generous greatcoats, elevated with Selleria leather details and paired with leather Wellingtons and hiking socks. The “Royals in the Highlands” aesthetic felt poignantly familiar due to the success of The Crown (and the recent release of its final season).

Homage to the style of HRH Anne came in the form of waterproof waxed jackets and greatcoats whose Selleria leather details were paired with Wellingtons

However, it was not all about tradition. What might have at first looked like a homage to the Scottish countryside, turned into a deeper exploration of today’s men’s identity. Dropped-crotch Bermuda shorts almost resembling skirts and wide-leg pants with knife pleats witnessed Venturini Fendi’s desire to identify new codes in the men’s wardrobe. ‘I liked the idea of breaking barriers, breaking the masculine and feminine codes,’ she explained. Bringing us back to the city environment, models in rosy cheeked make-up wore sleek tailoring in navy and grey matched to vivaciously coloured pieces of knitwear, and boat shoes with chunky rubber soles. The duality of the collection was reflected in the accessories too. The metropolitan formality was gently softened by the extravagant size of the Siesta bag – which became a pillow in striped quilting or shearling. Elsewhere new iterations of the Peekaboo ISeeU bag suggest an ultra-modern edge.

Creative director of accessories and menswear Silvia Venturini Fendi sought to break conventional masculine and feminine codes

The Fendi man might dream of the bucolic life but won’t renounce high-tech comforts. In a further move to merge these worlds, the Italian brand has partnered with French audio technology company Devialet to create an exclusive FF monogram portable speaker – ready to take into the great outdoors (wherever that may be).