The everlasting love between Fendi and Rome

Fendi has announced that next July 4 it will host a show-event in Rome, at the Temple of Venus on the Palatine Hill to celebrate the connection with the Eternal City and, above all, the work of Karl Lagerfeld.

On this day it will be unveiled The Dawn of Romanity, a very special Haute Couture FW 2019/2020 collection, composed of 54 looks (the same number of years of the collaboration with the late designer) inspired by the history of the Maison and the creations of Kaiser Karl. The event will also mark Fendi's return to patronage. The company, in fact, will donate 2.5 million euros for the restoration of the Temple of Venus. The work will start soon, will last 2-3 years and will restore the famous walls of coloured marble, the wall surfaces and stuccoes of the apse vault of the temple and the cell of the goddess Rome.

Serge Brunschwig, president and CEO of Fendi, said enthusiastically:

Bringing our couture to Rome is the best way to celebrate Karl Lagerfeld, Fendi and his city, a unique opportunity to express our roots, our bold creativity and the highest savoir-faire, which have always been part of the maison's DNA. A magical place, which perfectly represents Fendi's values, its tradition and history, I am also very proud of the restoration of the Temple of Venus and Rome, thus continuing to support the cultural heritage, not only of Rome and Italy, but of the entire world. 

This is not the first time that the brand has chosen the Capital and one of its most iconic places as the setting for a fashion show. It is 2016 when the Maison celebrates 90 years of activity by presenting the couture collection 2016/2017, Legends and Fairy, in front of the Trevi Fountain. Thanks to a particular optical illusion created by the plexiglass catwalk, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and the other models wrapped in hoods and ethereal dresses inspired by the Nordic fairy tales of Kay Nielsen seem to walk directly on the water, amplifying the evocative effect of the show that is definitely among the most spectacular ones of recent years. The event is also a way to inaugurate the fountain, restored thanks to Fendi and the Fendi for Fountains initiative. 

Fendi is Rome and Rome is Fendi. Fendi has a deep connection with Rome, the city where the Maison was founded 90 years ago and from which it has always drawn inspiration.

The brand often reaffirms this, underlining how its roots and history are deeply intertwined with those of the Eternal City. It was here, in fact, that the company's epic story began when in 1918 the designer Adele Casagrande opened a leather and fur workshop in the central Via del Plebiscito, which in 1925, after her marriage to Edoardo Fendi, became the Fendi boutique.

The success was immediate, above all thanks to Adele's pioneering ideas such as the Selleria line, leather bags completely cut and sewn by hand by craftsmen, inspired by the reins of horses. Savoir-faire, craftsmanship and elegance remain the key points of the family style even when the management of the brand goes to the five daughters of the founders. In 1965, Paola, Franca, Carla, Anna and Alda hired a young and talented German designer named Karl Lagerfeld who, together with Silvia Fendi (Anna's daughter), would take the company into the future and turn it one of the most important and popular luxury brands. Over the years, the couple achieved numerous successes, from the establishment of the Fun Fur style to the logomania, from the Baguette to the Peekaboo or bag charms, but always without ever breaking the link with the city of Rome. The city remains a continuous source of inspiration for collections, advertising campaigns and capsules such as the recent Roma/Amor in which the graffiti artist PREF has created a new special graphics dedicated to the relationship between Fendi and the capital. 

Rome does not live only in the creations of the brand. It's not just the word written under its logo. The streets, monuments, architecture and colours of the city are part of Fendi's DNA. It is here that the family has chosen to live and work. And it is here that the company headquarter is always located. In 2015 the Maison settled inside one of the most famous buildings of the city, an icon of Italian rationalism: Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The building, also known as the Square Colosseum and designed in 1937 by Giovanni Guerrini, Ernesto Lapadula and Mario Romano, houses the warehouses and the Fur atelier on the lower floor, the logistics and plant engineering on the ground floor, the entrance on the first level and a surface of over 1000 square meters for exhibitions open to the public. From the second to the seventh floor there are, instead, a public part and one of the private offices.

The restoration is the work of architect Marco Costanzi, who also designed the first Fendi Boutique Hotel in the capital. These are 7 apartments that recreate the atmosphere of a private house and occupy a floor of the former headquarter of the company in Largo Goldoni. The building itself, which has become a prestigious multifunctional space, contains the world's largest Fendi boutique, a fur shop, a VIP lounge and Zuma, the first Italian address of chef Reiner Becker's famous Japanese restaurant. Another important Roman space of the Fendi family is that of the Alda Fendi Foundation-Experiments. It is a special creative hub located in a 3,500 square meter building renamed Rhinoceros near the Forum Boarium, between the Mouth of Truth and the Arch of Janus. 

In over 90 years of history Fendi has celebrated Rome, its hometown, in every way possible: home, inspiration, set. A mother to love, protect and preserve her beauty. Choosing to hold its next fashion show here is like promising once again that this bond will never break.