Back from London where the British Fashion Council organized a wonderful retrospective called “Rebel” which featured 30 years of the best Newgen designers and freshly arrived in Milan where the first big show on the calendar was Fendi by Kim Jones this writer had an epiphany. Kim Jones was instrumental in the London fashion scene as his exposure in the “Rebel” show underlined channeling club and rave culture into his collections while he had side gigs with Umbro and Dunhill, he is the biggest men’s designer in Paris with Dior where he just celebrated his fifth anniversary and his women’s work at Fendi make him the only designer with relevance in the three fashion cities. He has always surrounded himself with a group of tight knit friends like the models Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss or the DJ Honey Dijon and major artists like Raymond Pettibon or Peter Doig and rubbing shoulders with them has always shown in his work. He stands for picking a theme well and elevating it to new heights as he has done with the archives of Dior and Fendi. This season Jones decided to lean on the city of Rome and its street style as inspiration as he takes in the city every morning when he walks from the hotel to the Coliseum with music in his ears and observing its inhabitants. Hence, the show was a powerful exercise in restrained elegance and effortless chic.