IN THE HOUSE
Kim Jones is at work, with a capital W. “We’re onto collection number seven now in the nine months I’ve been here so we’re on a roll,” says the newly minted artistic director of womenswear over Zoom from Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the Roman headquarters of Fendi. Coming through the computer’s speakers are the muted sounds of people moving around him, an industrious low swish of white noise. Take a moment for that to sink in: seven collections in nearly as many months and all while retaining his commitments as creative director of menswear at Dior in another city – Paris – during a pandemic. “It’s not been the easiest time to start a job, I’m going to say, but I think we’ve been doing a really good job.”
Jones has the easy demeanour of someone who might have been there for years, not months, but for those who follow the London-born designer and his work, it is par for the course. Without a hint
