Models walk on water at Fendi’s Trevi Fountain show

Fendi has spent 17 months – and a whopping £1.4 million – restoring Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain, which was reopened in November of last year. Last night the fountain gave something back, kind of, to the house that has invested so much in it. The 16th-century construction played host to Fendi’s AW16 haute fourrure (the fur equivalent of haute couture) show which was staged, not around the fountain, but actually on top of it.

In something akin to an America’s Next Top Model challenge, models walked down a glass runway that stretched over the water. (Needless to say, none slipped and fell into the water like this.) The show saw big-time social media girls Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid take to the catwalk, along with current Dazed cover star Yasmin Wijnaldum and more of our favourites including Ruth Bell, Molly Bair and Lineisy Montero.

Obviously couture (or in this case, fourrure) is a branch of fashion reserved for a certain elite – and this is something that creative director Karl Lagerfeld embraced, instead of shying away from. “I called the show Legends and Fairy Tales,” he said in an interview with Vogue, “because it’s a collection that doesn’t relate to everybody like ready-to-wear, this is very special for people who have a special kind of life.”

The collection itself paid testament to the extraordinary skill of the petites mains working in Fendi’s fur ateliers. One coat made from Persian lamb was hand-punctured with over 5,000 holes, so that it looked like lace. Some looks were constructed, like a jigsaw, from tiny pieces of mink while others were decorated from delicate floral appliqués, also made from mink. “This is what Fendi is all about,” said Lagerfeld after the show, “No other fur house in the world does it, or could do it.” 

While fur remains a divisive topic (several protesters turned up at the show), it’s hard to deny Fendi’s craftsmanship when it comes to the material which is, ultimately, unparalleled.