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
The Fendi and MAD Architects Peekaboo bag, as seen on the runway in January
(Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi)
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 Harbin Opera house in Harbin, China, designed by MAD Architects
(Image credit: Photography: Adam Mork)
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).
fendi.com
(Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi)