Fendi

Italian designer brand Fendi has been around for nearly one hundred years, demonstrating its ability to remain at the pinnacle of luxury design.
Adele and Eduardo Fendi established the House of Fendi in 1925, as a fur and leather shop. As the years went by, the brand was handed down to their 5 daughters, Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda, to add a new wave of enthusiasm.

Each of them were in charge of different tasks -- Paola was in charge of furs, Anna dealt with leather, Franca with client relations, Carla with business coordination and Aida with sales. In 1965, the Fendi sisters brought the one and only Karl Lagerfeld to become the head director. By 1966, Karl presented the first haute couture collection in Rome. He created unique and original combinations by mixing and matching fur with other materials.

With this original and unique concept and Lagerfeld’s design of the Fendi double F logo, success was only a matter of time. In 1977, he launched ready-to-wear lines, creating glamorous women’s wear and classically tailored men’s wear. This was followed by both men’s and women’s accessory line in the 80s.
In 1985, The National Gallery of Modern Art celebrated Lagerfeld’s 20-year collaboration and also the brand’s 60th anniversary. Not only that, but there was also an exhibit honoring Karl Lagerfeld’s talent, and to celebrate that, the house launched Fendi, the fragrance. As the years went by, Selleria, originally created by Adèle Fendi, was a collection of leather hand-made accessories that became popular once again.

Adele’s granddaughter, Silvia Fendi, revamped the collection and decided to reinterpret the handbag and luggage collection by creating the infamous “baguette bag”.
In 2001, Fendi joined the LVMH group, though it still runs as a family affair. Till this day, Silvia Fendi is head style director, while Karl Lagerfeld continues to work with the sisters as creative director.
In 2005, to celebrate the brand’s 85th anniversary, the house opened the Fendi Palace in Rome, a store designed by Peter Marino, which houses Fendi’s design and production studios.
During that same year, the brand relocated to 22, avenue Montaigne in Paris.

On October 19, 2007, Lagerfeld launched Fendi’s Spring/Summer 2008 on the Great Wall of China. The show featured 88 models that walked an 88-meter long runway, since the number 8 is considered lucky in China. This was considered a historic event in the fashion world. Fendi will continue to be globally known for unabashed extravagance.