Fendi goes beyond clothes
A BIG bed with a beautiful textured headboard worth more than P2 million. That’s not very easy to ignore.
If one sees a person wearing the bold and brash designs of Fendi, it isn’t easy to look away. The same can be said about the two Fs forming the logo, and perhaps we should say straight away that a house clothed in Fendi wouldn’t be easy to forget either. That’s the promise of the new Fendi Casa showroom, boasting Fendi furniture in a 220 sqm. space at Twenty-Four Seven McKinley in BGC, Taguig.
During a Nov. 16 tour around the showroom, we saw the aforementioned bed, several sofas that were delectable to sink into, and even Fendi references in the furniture: think sofas with tiny slits that evoked the same feelings as the Peekaboo bag. They also have on board several designers to design pieces for them: Marcel Wanders Studio has a sofa and armchairs, and Thierry Lemaire’s Parsifal sofa and armchairs that evoked midcentury styling.
The new showroom also reflects movements in Europe and FF Design CEO Alberto Da Passano was there to explain Fendi Casa’s new structure.
“It’s not a corporate restructuring. It’s actually a new adventure that just started,” he said.
Mr. Da Passano was the former president for Fendi in Europe and the Middle East. He explained that the Fendi Casa license had expired in 2021 with its former partner (WWD identifies it as Luxury Living), and they formed a joint venture (the aforementioned FF Design) with Design Holding, which includes under its portfolio luxury furniture brands like Flos, B&B Italia, and Louis Poulsen, among others.
“We selected a partner that we thought was ready and able to give us the best quality — but also, a partner which will share in the values and the long-term vision of the brand,” Mr. Da Passano told BusinessWorld.
Mr. Da Passano, for his part, explained why the Philippines was an important market for the brand. “Fendi is strong, we can be strong. It’s a dynamic society. It’s growing fast; there’s attention to fashion.”
He explained also the shared DNA between Fendi’s clothing and accessories, and the accompanying furniture. “Fendi is about color, joyfulness,” he said. “In some ways, it’s more obvious. In some others, there needs to be more storytelling.”
Fendi isn’t the first name to put an Italian stamp on style, nor would it be the last. As an Italian, Mr. Da Passano has an answer as to why the Italians can live so stylishly: “Italian people are creative. I think it’s the environment. I think there is in Italy an environment that enhances these kinds of skills,” he said. “The people who have these kinds of skills are able to express themselves at their best.”
“We are surrounded by beautiful things. People have a sense of beauty.” — JLG
