On July 16, the Roman luxury house FENDI unveiled the advertising campaign for its Fall/Winter 2026-27 collection by chief creative officer Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Photographed by Jo Ann Callis, the campaign focuses on the contradictory emotions of human relationships — the desire to connect with another person, and the impossibility of ever fully understanding them.
Summary
- FENDI presents the advertising campaign for Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Fall/Winter 2026-27 collection, photographed by Jo Ann Callis
- The campaign explores intimacy and distance — the tension between the need to connect and the instinct to protect one’s vulnerability
- Chiuri’s vision rests on the idea of a shared wardrobe, with womenswear and menswear constructed as mirrors of one another
- The images draw on the work of Pina Bausch, exploring emotional tension expressed through physical proximity
- Rome itself — its architecture, interiors and layered history — becomes an essential presence in the campaign
The Desire to Connect, and the Instinct to Protect
Connection is essential to human existence; without it, existence itself is diminished. People are fundamentally driven to connect with one another — and, at the same time, carry the instinct to guard their own vulnerability. Between these opposing impulses lies a constant negotiation: how much of oneself to open, and how much to ask of the other.
However much effort is made, the interior of another person can never be fully understood. And yet, because connection is a need, the attempt continues.
A Shared Wardrobe, and What It Reveals
Callis began by drawing the themes and gestures that shape the campaign in a sketchbook, working through the relationships and interactions that arise between two figures — often a man and a woman.
At the foundation of Chiuri’s vision for FENDI is the idea of a shared wardrobe. Womenswear and menswear are constructed to mirror one another, bringing out the elements they share and the duality between them, marking their common ground while making their differences equally clear.
That interplay suggests that sharing the same clothing can, paradoxically, make masculinity and femininity more distinct. A woman wearing menswear, for instance, can register her femininity all the more strongly.
Particular attention is paid to gesture. Each movement functions as a reflection of the figure’s interior life, expressing the continuous dialogue exchanged between the masculine and the feminine.
Stillness, Distance and Pina Bausch
The series was conceived as a single narrative, each image existing as a still moment lifted from a larger story. Through gesture, spatial relationships and above all the distance held between the subjects, a dialogue beyond words comes into view.
The figures share the same space, yet a delicate emotional and physical tension remains between them. The campaign draws inspiration from the work of Pina Bausch, which explored the emotional tension expressed through physical closeness.
Rome as an Essential Presence
The city of Rome became indispensable to the work. The layers of history inscribed in its architecture, interiors and ruins resonate deeply with the campaign’s conceptual framework.
The locations also shifted the method of expression itself. Wall-mounted lighting, drapery and the way fabric meets light are incorporated as key visual elements. Space, clothing and accessories become one, producing an atmosphere removed from the everyday — something closer to a dream. The intention is to draw the viewer into this constructed reality, and to summon the cinematic heritage that Rome and FENDI both carry.
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