FENDI
Website: www.fendi.it
Adele Casagrande was born in 1897 and in 1918, she set up a leather and fur workshop in Rome, Italy. In 1925, she married Edoardo Fendi, and her workshop was renamed FENDI. The Fendis had 5 daughters, Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla and Alda. When their father died in 1954, the 5 daughters took over Fendi and became to expand and develop it. (Adele Casagrande Fendi died in 1978 when she was 81 years old).
The first line which the 5 sisters introduced was Furs. They became very famous for their fur coats. In 1962, they called on Karl Lagerfeld to design their dramatic fur garments and he has been doing so till today. Lagerfeld also introduced their logo, the double F.
They shared the work, Paola presided over the pelts, Anna designed bags and accessories, Franca ran the luggage and leather shops, Alda managed the fur salons and Carla (known as the General) was overall supervisor.
The children of these 5 sisters have also grown up in the business and have become Directors of the firm. They have brought out their own label Fendissime.
In 1966 Fendi brought out their Couture Fur collection, in 1969 ready-to-wear collections. Lagerfeld has designed fur casualwear, fur trimmed denim jacked, fur-lined sporty raincoats, and other garments combining his high fashion aesthetic with high tech developments and colouring techniques.
In 1990 Gianbattista Valli worked for a year as designer for the new line of Fendissime.
Around 100 Fendi salons are now found in all major cities in the world like London, Paris, New York, etc. although the base is still the Eternal City, Rome. They also have a flagship store on Fifth Avenue, New York.
In 1999, Fendi sold 51% of their stock to a Prada/LVMH joint venture. It was rumoured that the family members were feuding over this decision. Finally in 2001, Patrizio Bertelli sold Prada's 25 % stake to LVMH for 182 million pounds, due to mounting debt. So currently LVMH owns the majority of the shares in Fendi.
For the Autumn/Winter 2002 collection, Lagerfeld chose to keep things simple with a fabulous ode to Courreges, spiced with fur and ruffles.
Spring/Summer 2003
During Milan Fashion week in September 2002, Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi showed their Spring/Summer 2003 collection. Glam warrior girls went down the catwalk dressed for battle, in skimpy body-skimming chiffons and feathers, armed with killer accessories like the Biga, an exotic shoulder bag named after a Roman chariot.
On the left is a dress from the collection.
Fall 2003
Karl Lagerfeld showed the Fendi collection during Milan fashion Week in March 2003. An outfit from the show is shown on the right.
He showed that Haute luxury needs to be pushed to the limit to stay competitive. Showstopping coats were fielded against a palette of petrol blue, purple, lavender and metallics. Neat coats in Persian lamp had embossing, culy cascades of Mongolian lamb spilled out of a skeletal framwork of fabric. One fur coat with a vast drooping collar was sewn from a single enormous spiral patchwork.
All his lengths were short and his show strung together some of the most high-spirited feats in fur and leather in fashion today.
Spring/Summer 2004
Karl Lagerfeld's ready-to-wear collection for Fendi for this season, was shown during the Milan Fashion Week in October 2003. One dress from the collection is shown on the left.
Focus is always on showcasing Fendi's state-of-the art developments in fur and skins. They produced an extraordinary transparent leather and perforated ultra-fine suede both of which trick the eye by narrowing the distinction between fabric and animal skin. He also showed cloudy watercolour chiffons that floated on the summer breeze.
Karl's personal favourite from the collection is the circular construction dress shown on the right. He said "the sunrise, sunset, moon, sun, a magic circle .. everything was based on a circular construction to make a happy collection, optimistic, bright, even the sunset at the end of the day is very poetic."
Sad News
Paola Fendi's daughter Simona (born 1965) had become an expert on fur fashion designs. She died in November 2003 of a lung embolism. The company will miss her.
Fall/Winter 2004 ready-to-wear
Karl Lagerfeld presented his Fall collection for the house of Fendi in Milan during Fashion Week in February 2004. One of his creations is shown here on the left, a brightly printed daydress worn by supermodel Alek Wek, along with a necklace of large silver medallions reminiscent of African tribes.
The audience was feeling pretty cold in the huge industrial space used for the show, but warmed up seeing Karl's creations for next winter.
He dropped the vintage idea this season, opting not to copy anything from the past, but accentuating the new.
It was a slick futuristic collection with models wearing armfuls of metal jewellery, dragging knitted furs behind them.
Spring/Summer 2005
During Milan Fashion Week in September 2004, Karl Lagerfeld presented his Fendi Spring collection. A pretty one-shouldered Greek-style dress from the collection is shown on the right.
He was inspired, he said, by the early paintings of Miro. It was a strong and coherent show, with deep painterly brush strokes of pattern, imaginative textures and a mix of naivity with sophistication. The workmanship of seaming and macrame inserts in jersey dresses created strange goddesses. He used bright purples, blues and vivid yellows.
Autumn/Winter 2005
Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendii presented the Fendi Autumn/Winter collection during Milan Fashion Week in February 2005.
Fur returned to it's rightful place as senior fabric for the house. Karl worked to make fur, suede, and knits so eye-deceiving that you could only tell by touch which was which. This was an ultra-luxurious ready-to-wear collection including military coats, unembellished except for horizontally shaved stripes and epaulets, cardigan jackets of white Mongolian lambswool and full skirted coats with nipped waists. The colour palette was also darkly vibrant of wine, bottle green, aubergine and browns.
Fendi's parent company LVMH were very happy, CEO Michael Burke emphasized "this is all about fur, Karl has gone back to his archives for some great pieces."
Spring/Summer 2006
Milan Fashion Week
Karl Lagerfeld presented the Fendi Spring/Summer 2006 collection during Milan Fashion Week in September 2005.
On the right is a dress from the collection, a sleeveless white cotton creation with an embroidered skirt and belt.
His collection was quiet glamour without any tricks or effects, producing clothes which were simple and a fine collection of accessories. A lace bag gleamed in white patent leather, and flat shoes had roses at the toes. Lagerfeld said he was inspired by an art exhibition on Fauvist artists Matisse and Derain. This is a fur and leather house with a fabulous history of craftsmanship, and jackets in lace patterns with high-waisted skirts affirmed this. Soft fur shoulder shrugs for summer were worn over layered chiffon dresses. The executive from parent company LVMH said it was a very "positive" collection.
Fendi Rome Prize
Every year for more than a century, the American Academy in Rome awards scholarship to 15 emerging artists. For the first time this year, the fashion scholarship is being established under the auspices of the Fendi Rome Prize. Like other fellowships under the Fendi Rome Prize, the winner will be able to live and work at Fendi in Rome. The winner will be declared in April 2006.
New Fendi Store in New York
To celebrate their 80th anniversary Fendi have opened their new flagship store at 677 Fifth Avenue, New York. A gala party was given by Fendi CEO Michael Burke which was attended by the Architect Peter Marino.
Guests included Karl Lagerfeld, Liv Tyler and Isabella Rossellini.
Fendi (W)
2007