Fendi
Wednesday - June 29, 2005
This year, Fendi celebrates its 80th anniversary, bringing to the runway a mix of new and old.
“We’re bringing out a new energy for Fendi, but this new energy for Fendi is located in its own DNA,” explains Gianluca Flore, president of Fendi North America. “We’re going back to our past, and digging through the archives. It’s giving new life to Fendi. As a result it may look to people like a new look, but it’s not. It’s a combination of new energy and new strategies for Fendi.”
Flore was in Hawaii this month with a presentation of the exquisite 2005 Fall/Winter collection at a private preview party held at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii on June 16.
Flore says Fendi is not about one single product or one single trend. Rather it’s about a look of luxury, exclusivity, high quality and creativity.
Fendi began in 1925 as a small leather goods and fur shop opened by Edoardo and Adele Fendi. Since then, the company has not only become one of the leading brands in the fur field, but also one of the top fashion houses with a product line of high fashion, ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as those popular Fendi handbags with the trademark double FF logo.
“Right now we’re seeing a lot of big bags instead of smaller bags,” says Flore on some of the current trends. “We launched the Spy Bag in the Spring/Summer and it’s really been the hip bag of the season. We still have huge amounts of preorders, and this trend is sure to keep on going through the Fall/Winter. The Spy Bag is not only popular in the U.S., but also in Europe, Asia and Japan. It’s a global success, and one that keeps on pushing the success of Fendi. We’re also launching new shapes within the Spy collection.
“Then when we talk about Fendi going back to its DNA, we’re also launching a new bag in the Selleria collection called the Villa Borghese which features an equestrian theme. Fendi was started in Rome, and the bag is named after a park in Rome where families would go to ride horses after church.”
Fendi’s latest handbags also feature new materials and embellishments, including metallic threads, glass beads, pearls and furs, as well as some early motifs, such as the squirrel which was the original logo for Fendi.
On Oahu, Fendi is located at Ala Moana Center and the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki. For more information, call 973-3311.
-YU SHING TING
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