Fendi celebrated 100 years at Milan Fashion Week by going back to it’s roots with fun furs and classic silhouettes. Twenties flapper slips, art deco chevron and slicked side parts all paid homage to the fashion house’s founding decade. Established in 1925 by Italian designers Edoardo Fendi and Adele Casagrande, Fendi became known for its opulent furs and superior leather goods.
Karl Lagerfeld joined the brand in 1965 and remained there for 54 years, until his death – the longest collaboration between a fashion house and a designer to date. That same year, he designed the now iconic Fendi FF logo, standing for ‘Fun Furs’.
While the FF iconography didn’t return, the fur certainly did, in the form of opulent overcoats, stoles and coat collars. There were however nods through time, with Eighties pussy bows and 2010s peplums, the show culminated in sheer and sequined evening wear.
The label is known for it’s pared back yet elegant edge, with slips, sculptural silhouettes and muted tones frequenting collections. This season was no different – with a classically Fendi palette of earthy browns, khakis and clays flooding the runway.
Following Lagerfeld’s death in 2019, English designer Kim Jones became the label’s creative director, elevating Fendi’s casual-but-cool essence with his ready-to-wear collections. Jones also set up the ‘Friends of Fendi’ initiative in 2021, collaborating with the likes of Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand Skims, Marc Jacobs, Versace and Saint Laurent’s head Stefano Pilati – keeping the brand relevant and diverse.
As Jones left the label last October, this was to be the fashion house’s first collection without a head. The 100 year anniversary show was designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi – the only Fendi family member still working at the historic Italian business.
Models that took to the runway to celebrate the label’s centenary included Sixties heartthrob Penelope Tree, 75, Victoria’s Secret angel Adriana Lima, 43, Eva Herzigova, 51, and Gen Z powerhouse Mona Tougaard, 22. Sex and the City’s Sarah Jessica Parker hit the front row, with her outfit making a call back to one of Carrie Bradshaw’s most iconic lines, “This isn’t a bag – it’s a bag-uette.”.
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