HEY FENDI!

Fendi taps on Instagram a ist Hey Reilly for its new season

IF BOOTLEG LUXURY were to elect an ambassador, Hey Reilly (above, left) would be the frontrunner by a mile.

The artist catapulted into the public consciousness with Fakenews, a personal project that involved mashing two disparate brand logos together. He uploaded his works on Instagram and his take on Fendi and Fila caught the eye of Silvia Venturini Fendi (above, right). “When she got in touch, I thought she wanted to slap a lawsuit.

But she loved it and asked if I wanted to collaborate,” Reilly recalled.

Naturally, he said yes. This is the third time Fendi has worked with an artist for its seasonal collections. It previously worked with Sue Tilley and John Booth.

Subversive Humour

One of Fendi’s strengths is its ability to connect with a younger generation while still remaining true to its legacy. Its AW18 collection continues this. Besides playfully reinterpreting the historic Fendi logo in his style, Hey Reilly produced a variety of prints that he hopes would “create a conversation”.

There is an image of a horse atop a slice of cheese emblazoned on T-shirts and totes, and an elephant astride a strawberry on a leather tote. Our favourite, however, is the overall print that Reilly created by literally tearing up the moodboard he was using. It’s on the overcoat Reilly is wearing in the picture. Reilly also created his own vocabulary, which includes words such as “ffabulous”, “ffancy” and “ffreedom”.

True, luxury fashion’s obsession with streetwear is ironic. But it’s bootleg luxury at its finest. AM