The Very Colibrì: FENDI’s Irresistibly Seductive New Anatomy Of Feminine Grace

Rome, September 2017. Milan Fashion Week was in full swing, yet the fashion aristocracy had descended upon Italy with the particular anticipation reserved for FENDI. 

Behind the scenes, the atmosphere was electric: models moved through the backstage with half-finished faces; stylists plucked looks from crowded rails; hands fastened, adjusted and perfected; photographers hunted the fleeting poetry of preparation. Outside, the audience had taken its seats. 

Conversations inevitably converged upon one delicious question: what is Karl serving today?

Then came the runway.

For Spring/Summer 2018, Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi presented a collection that celebrated the House’s distinctive Roman spirit, and among its most arresting accessories was a new slingback: the Colibrì. 

Elegant yet unexpectedly athletic, polished yet wonderfully light, it possessed the kind of visual contradiction that fashion editors instinctively recognise as the beginning of an icon.

The name was perfect. Colibrì—Italian for hummingbird—suggested speed, delicacy, freedom and airborne lightness. Its distinctive elastic straps gave the refined silhouette a kinetic quality, turning a conventionally ladylike shoe into something altogether more spirited. The editors noticed. Women wanted it. Fashion embraced it.

And now, nearly a decade later, the hummingbird takes flight once more.

Enter Maria Grazia Chiuri, and with her first collection for FENDI, the Fall/Winter 2026–27 season introduces the Very Colibrì: a sensuous, stripped-back reimagining of the House’s signature slingback that feels less like a reinvention than a delicious act of refinement.

The essential lines have been pared back, allowing the foot—and the woman wearing it—to command the conversation. A newly slender heel brings an almost weightless elegance, while the deeper V-shaped vamp visually lengthens the foot. 

The characteristic straps remain integral to its identity, creating that delicious tension between sensuality and agility. It is feminine without being precious, polished without becoming prim and seductive without ever appearing to try too hard.

That is the Very Colibrì’s particular magic.

Its materiality further heightens the allure, with sophisticated iterations in leather and glossy patent calfskin, alongside more tactile and adventurous expressions. The colour story is equally assured: elegant black, quietly sophisticated parchment and striking black-and-white combinations give the shoe a wardrobe-spanning versatility, while the House’s more experimental use of hagfish leather introduces an unexpected textural dimension.

Then comes The Art of Balance, photographed by Michal Pudelka. Against the monumental remains of Rome’s Stadio delle Terme di Caracalla, Pudelka turns movement into theatre. 

Models appear caught between motion and stillness, their bodies seemingly suspended within the ancient Roman landscape. The surreal imagery becomes a fitting visual metaphor for the Very Colibrì itself: a shoe defined by the tension between strength and softness, structure and freedom, sensuality and movement.

And this is precisely why FENDI devotees should pay attention.

The Very Colibrì is not simply an autumn/winter shoe; it is an exceptionally intelligent wardrobe investment. Beneath sharply tailored trousers, it lends sophistication without severity. Paired with a flowing dress, it becomes unabashedly feminine. With denim, it acquires insouciance. 

Beneath a sweeping coat, it creates that coveted flash of footwear that announces taste rather than desperation for attention.

Yet the story goes deeper than styling.

FENDI’s relationship with footwear is inseparable from its century-long Roman heritage. Founded in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi, the House established its reputation through leather craftsmanship before evolving into one of fashion’s most inventive luxury institutions. 

That intimate understanding of materials, proportion and handcraft continues to inform the House’s accessories today.

Indeed, FENDI has always understood something fundamental about luxury: an accessory should not merely complete an outfit; it should reveal something about the person wearing it.

From the Baguette and Peekaboo to the House’s constantly evolving footwear universe, FENDI creations have acquired a rare cultural currency. They are recognisable without being monotonous, luxurious without being anonymous. Women do not simply carry, wear or collect them. They inhabit them.

The Very Colibrì belongs to that lineage.

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It is Roman in spirit, contemporary in attitude and unmistakably FENDI in its ability to make contradiction look utterly effortless. The hummingbird has returned—but this time, she has sharpened her wings.

And frankly speaking, your autumn wardrobe would be rather foolish to let her fly away.

Very Colibri is availablr now in all FENDI boutiques worldwide and online.  

*Photos courtesy of FENDI.