It is little surprise that Beijing-born architect Ma Yansong grew up fixated with science fiction. The soaring, curvilinear lines of his buildings – from the undulating Harbin Opera House in China to the suspended alien vessel-like Aranya Cloud Center, which is currently in construction in Qinhuangdao – look to have descended to Earth from a far-off realm.
‘Good buildings should feed people's imagination, provide them with pleasure and provoke some sort of spiritual reaction,’ Ma told Wallpaper* at the beginning of 2023. ‘I like to create a kind of surreal atmosphere with architecture that's a little strange, unfamiliar or abstract. If the built world is too practical, it feels flat, and there's no space for imagination.’
Future fashion: Fendi collaborates with MAD Architects
Now, Ma brings his distinct eye to a project far smaller in scale: a handbag and sneaker design for the Italian house Fendi, first revealed at the house’s menswear show in January 2024, and now arriving in stores worldwide. It continues a longtime link between the house – which is based in Rome, its home city – and architecture, whether in previous collaborations (like that with Kengo Kuma for S/S 2024), or various ambitious building projects.
These include the Marco Costanzi-led renovation of the Mussolini-era Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome, which Fendi now uses as its headquarters, or the recently opened Fendi Factory in Bagno a Ripoli by Milan-based fist Piuarch, designed to float into the rolling Tuscan hills beyond.
The collaboration, designed alongside Silvia Venturini Fendi, is described by the house as 'combining new technologies with an Eastern affinity for natural forms'. This philosophy is epitomised by a version of the house’s signature ‘Peekaboo ISeeYou’ bag, which features curving, wave-like panels of leather across its futuristic façade, with glossy coloured aluminium emerging from beneath. It comes in two distinct colourways: one is constructed from grey leather with yellow panels, the other black with blue.
A similarly futuristic design defines the ergonomic sneaker, which, in Ma’s signature style, looks to have stepped off the set of a science-fiction movie. Slip-on, for ease, the show features a curvilinear injection-moulded sole that reflects the sweeping silhouettes of his architectural practice, with 'bubble' details and metal elements adding surface interest. A mesh tongue and stretch shoelaces complete with design, which, like the ‘Peekaboo’, comes in dove grey with yellow accents, or black with midnight blue. A white and silver version is also available,
Fendi and MAD Architects is available in limited-edition numbers from Fendi stores and the brand’s website from today (5 September 2024).
