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Fendi () is an
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
high-end
luxury Luxury may refer to: * Luxury goods, an economic good or service for which demand increases more than proportionally as income rises *Luxury tax, tax on products not considered essential, such as expensive cars **Luxury tax (sports), surcharge pu ...
fashion house producing fur, ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, fragrances, eyewear, timepieces and accessories. Founded in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
in 1925, Fendi is known for its fur, fur accessories, and leather goods. Since 2001, Fendi has been part of the “Fashion & Leather Goods” division of French group LVMH. Its headquarters are in Rome, in the
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, or in everyday speech as the ("Square Colosseum"), is a building in the EUR district in Rome. It was designed in 1938 by three Italian architects: Giovanni ...
.


History


Early years

The house of Fendi was launched in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi (1904-1954) as a fur and leather shop in Via del Plebiscito, Rome. In 1932 Adele and Edoardo Fendi opened a boutique in via Piave; the shop became a popular destination for tourists in Rome.Fendi, 90 anni di storia italiana
/ref> From 1946, the five sisters Paola,
Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
, Franca,
Carla Carla is the feminized version of Carl, Carlos or Charles, from ''ceorl'' in Old English, which means "free man". Notable people with the name include: * Carla, French singer and former member of the children's music group Kids United * Carla Abe ...
, and Alda joined the company in its second generation as a family-owned enterprise, each owning 20 percent.
Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
joined Fendi in 1965 and became the
creative director A creative director (or creative supervisor) is a person who makes high-level creative decisions and, with those decisions, oversees the creation of creative assets such as advertisements, products, events, or logos. Creative director positions ar ...
for the fur and women's ready-to-wear collections (launched in 1977). In 1966, Lagerfeld created the company logo, a double F in a square, which would later be the subject of various reinterpretations. Also in 1966, Fendi presented its first high fashion collection, expanding its interests in the United States and Japan. In 1969, its first commercial line of fur was launched, and in the following years, cosmetics and men accessories were released. In 1977, Fendi introduced clothing for the first time, its ready-to-wear collection.Fendi rewind, storia del brand che celebra il lusso dell'artigianalità
/ref>


1980s–1990s

In the 1980s, Fendi expanded its range with perfumes in 1985, as well as eyewear, jeans, and home furnishings in 1987.
In 1989, Fendi opened its first United States boutique in New York on 5th Avenue. In 1994, Paola Fendi handed over presidency of the company to her younger sister Carla. Silvia Venturini Fendi, daughter of Anna, joined the fashion house in 1994 and has since been the artistic director for accessories and co-designer of the women's line alongside Lagerfeld; in 1997 she designed the Baguette Bag, an iconic model that beat all sales and notoriety records.


Sale of controlling share

Fendi was a family-controlled company until 1999, when Prada and LVMH, the world's biggest luxury goods group, joined to buy 51 percent of Fendi for $545 million; competitor
Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragran ...
lost out in the bidding process. Under the deal, Prada and LVMH were obligated to acquire any of the 49 percent of Fendi, should the sisters decide to sell. The label lost approximately 20 million euros in 2001 and again in 2002. In 2002, Prada agreed to sell its 25.5 percent stake to LVMH for $265 million. In 2002, LVMH acquired an additional 15.9 percent of the company. Carla Fendi, a member of the founding family, continued to act as chairwoman and a minority owner until 2008. On 19 October 2007, Fendi chose the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic gro ...
to present its spring-summer collection and with 88 models, the first fashion show there. In 2009, Silvia Venturini Fendi created the Peekaboo bag, achieving a success comparable to the Baguette Bag. In 2010, the Fendi Kids label made its debut in Spring/Summer 2011. The same year, Fendi launched a new fragrance – Fan di Fendi – before discontinuing its fragrances in 2015.


2010s

In 2014, Fendi started making plans to use drones to show its
catwalk A fashion show (French ''défilé de mode'') is an event put on by a fashion designer to showcase their upcoming line of clothing and/or accessories during a fashion week. Fashion shows debut every season, particularly the Spring/Summer and Fal ...
fashions. From 2013 until 2021, the company had a brand licensing agreement with Safilo for the design, production and worldwide distribution of Fendi sunglasses and optical frames. In 2015, Fendi celebrated fifty years of business with
Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
and organized its first haute couture fashion show dedicated to furs, ''Haute Fourrure'', at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. Later the brand celebrated its 90th anniversary with a fashion show at the
Trevi fountain The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...
in Rome and planned to move its headquarters to
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana The Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, also known as the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro, or in everyday speech as the ("Square Colosseum"), is a building in the EUR district in Rome. It was designed in 1938 by three Italian architects: Giovanni ...
, paying 2.8 million euros per annum to occupy the space; Fendi instead opened a hotel and its largest store at the location in 2016. In 2017, Fendi released a customization shop in collaboration with e-commerce platform
Farfetch Farfetch is a British-Portuguese online luxury fashion retail platform that sells products from over 700 boutiques and brands from around the world. The company was founded in 2007 by the Portuguese entrepreneur José Neves with its headquarters ...
for made-to-order handbag designs.


Recent developments

By 2018, Fendi crossed the 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) threshold in annual sales and had 3,000 employees worldwide, including around 400 in specialist leather and fur ateliers in Italy, and operated a network of 215 stores. In September 2020, English designer Kim Jones was announced as artistic director of Fendi's women's collection, formerly occupied by Lagerfeld. In 2021, Fendi ended its partnership with Safilo and entered into an agreement with LVMH-owned Thelios to create, produce, and distribute its eyewear collection. Fendi Casa terminated its collaboration with licensee Luxury Living and instead partnered with Design Holding, jointly controlled by Investindustrial and
The Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and ...
, on creating Fashion Furniture Design (FF Design) to produce and distribute Fendi Casa.


Artistic directors

After 2019 Karl Lagerfeld direction (1965-2019), Silvia Venturini Fendi took over both the men's and women's collections. From September 2020, the women's collection was entrusted to Kim Jones, former stylist for the Dior men's collection, who was appointed artistic director of ''
couture Couture may refer to: People * Couture (surname) Places Belgium * Couture-Saint-Germain, a village in the municipality of Lasne, Belgium Canada * Couture crater and Lac Couture, an impact crater and the lake that covers it in Quebec, Canada ...
'' and womenswear. Silvia Venturini remains artistic director of accessories and menswear. Jones' debut collection was for Fall / Winter 2021/2022.
In 2021 Delfina Delettrez Fendi, Silvia Venturini Fendi’s daughter, was appointed artistic director of jewelry.


Cinema

Fendi has often collaborated with cinema; the maison has designed the clothes for ''
Once Upon a Time in America ''Once Upon a Time in America'' ( it, C'era una volta in America) is a 1984 epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone and starring Robert De Niro and James Woods. The film is an Italian–American venture prod ...
'', ''Evita'' and ''
The Royal Tenenbaums ''The Royal Tenenbaums'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. It stars Danny Glover, Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen W ...
''.
Many famous film directors in the 1970s, including
Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...
, Federico Fellini,
Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...
, and
Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director of literate sensibility, known for his masterly handling of period subject matter. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. ...
, chose Fendi furs for their characters. Fendi has also dressed Sophia Loren, Diana Ross, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,
Soraya Soraya ( fa, ثریا) is a feminine Persian name. It is derived from the Arabic name for the Pleiades star cluster, ''Thurayya'' ( ar, ثريّة). The name is also popular in Europe due to its association with Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, th ...
, and
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...
.


Campaigns

Lagerfeld himself was responsible for the photography of Fendi's ad campaigns before his death; since then, Fendi has used Nick Knight, Craig McDean and Steven Meisel.


Philanthropy

In 2013, Fendi pledged more than 2 million euros to sponsor projects, including a clean-up of the Quattro Fontane and the restoration of the
Trevi Fountain The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...
in Rome, and held the company's 90th anniversary show over the fountain using a plexiglas floor. In 2018, Fendi signed a partnership with the
Galleria Borghese The Galleria Borghese () is an art gallery in Rome, Italy, housed in the former Villa Borghese Pinciana. At the outset, the gallery building was integrated with its gardens, but nowadays the Villa Borghese gardens are considered a separate touris ...
to support the museum's exhibitions for the following three years. In 2019, it committed 2.5 million euros to restore the
Temple of Venus and Roma The Temple of Venus and Roma (Latin: ''Templum Veneris et Romae'') is thought to have been the largest temple in Ancient Rome. Located on the Velian Hill, between the eastern edge of the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum, in Rome, it was dedicated ...
, when it held its couture show at the site. In 2021, Fendi completed the restoration of Rome’s Temple of Venus, the largest building in ancient Rome.


Controversy

Fendi sued
Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...
in 1986 for selling counterfeit handbags, and filed a new lawsuit in 2006 after concluding the company was violating the injunction. In 2010, a U.S. Magistrate recommended that Burlington pay Fendi just over $5.6 million in damages, attorney's fees and costs to settle a dispute dating to 1986 over the alleged sale of counterfeit Fendi-branded leather goods. Burlington subsequently agreed to pay $10.05 million. Also in 2010, Fendi reached a $2.5 million settlement with the former parent company of
Filene's Basement Filene's Basement, also called The Basement, was a Massachusetts-based chain of department stores which was owned by Retail Ventures, Inc. until April 2009 when it was sold to Syms. The oldest off-price retailer in the United States, Filene's ...
to resolve counterfeiting claims.Jonathan Stempel (October 20, 2010)
Fendi, Burlington in $10 mln counterfeiting accord
''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
''.


References


External links

* * {{Portal bar, Companies, Fashion, Italy Fendi Italian suit makers LVMH brands Fashion accessory brands Haute couture Luxury brands High fashion brands Clothing brands of Italy Clothing retailers of Italy Italian companies established in 1925 Eyewear brands of Italy Jewellery retailers of Italy Bags (fashion) Perfume houses Watch brands Shoe companies of Italy Watch manufacturing companies of Italy Clothing companies established in 1925 Design companies established in 1925