Fendi: 4 Things You Should Know

The Italian luxury brand Fendi is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, we’ve compiled four facts about the company that you may not know.

1. A Busy Squirrel

In 1918, Adele Casagrande (1897–1978) opened a fur and leather goods store on Rome's Via del Plebiscito. Seven years later, she married Edoardo Fendi (1904–1960) and took his name, along with the company. 1925 is now considered the official birth of the Fendi brand. Edoardo admired his wife's energy and compared her to a squirrel, making the industrious animal the brand’s first logo.

2. Family Leadership

Even after World War II, Fendi remained under female leadership. Adele and Edoardo had five daughters – Paola (*1931), Anna (*1931), Franca (1935–2022), Carla (1937–2017), and Alda (*1940) – who joined the company in 1946, working across various departments. When their mother died in 1978, each inherited 20% of the company.

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German creative director for fur and women's ready-to-wear Karl Lagerfeld, surrounded by the five Fendi sisters, the heads of the Italian luxury fashion house Fendi. From left to right: Franca, Paola, Carla, Alda, and Anna. (Photo by Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis via Getty Images)

In 1965, the sisters hired a young designer who had previously worked for Balmain, Patou and Chloé: Karl Lagerfeld. The partnership lasted until Lagerfeld’s death in 2019. He introduced several innovations at Fendi, most notably the double F logo, also known as Zucca, which replaced the squirrel.

3. Historic Buildings

In 2005, Fendi celebrated its 80th anniversary and moved its headquarters to the historic Palazzo Boncompagni on Largo Carlo Goldoni, where Via dei Condotti and Via del Corso meet. Ten years later, for its 90th anniversary, the company relocated to the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, built for the 1942 Universal Exposition, which was cancelled due to the war. The Palazzo Boncompagni still houses a flagship store and the Fendi Private Suites.

See also: 7 Wonders to See in Rome in 1 Day

BEIJING – OCTOBER 19: Models present designer Karl Lagerfeld's Fall/Winter 2007 collection at the Fendi Great Wall of China fashion show, held on the Great Wall of China in Beijing, China, on October 19, 2007. (Photo: Lucas Dawson/Getty Images for FENDI)

In 2016, Lagerfeld presented a women’s collection on a transparent catwalk over the Trevi Fountain, a project supported by Fendi with a seven-figure contribution to the fountain’s restoration. Even more spectacular, however, was the 2007 show on the Great Wall of China, marking the brand’s expansion into the Chinese market.

4. Iconic Companions

Fendi has produced handbags since its founding, but truly iconic designs are a more recent development. The most famous is the Baguette, created in 1997 by Anna’s daughter Silvia Venturini Fendi. Its simple shape and prominent logo have made it a versatile classic. Other popular designs by Silvia include the relaxed Spy Bag (2005) and the elegant Peekaboo (2009).

Since 2001, the LVMH Group has been Fendi’s majority shareholder. The brand now operates more than 200 boutiques worldwide, from Hong Kong to Honolulu, and São Paulo to Singapore.

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About the author

Gritta von Toll

Gritta von Toll is the German Editor at Barnebys Magazine. She completed studies in pre- and early history and archaeology, and since 2015, after a short detour into the world of advertising, she has worked at Barnebys, where she immerses herself in art history in order to bring bygone epochs closer to today's readers.