Fendi opens new 50 million factory in Tuscany

Yesterday, Fendi opened a new production facility for its leather goods collections in Capannuccia, Bagno a Ripoli, near Florence. The facility already houses 125 employees, which will grow to 400 in the coming months and increase to 700 in the next three years. The entire Fendi Factory has reclaimed the immense ruins of the former Brunelleschi furnace, redeveloping the entire area, and also developing within the adjacent hillside, blending in with it thanks to roofs almost entirely covered with trees and solar panels. Below ground, the actual production workshops are lit by large well windows while much of the building is constructed with transparent windows that make the surrounding landscape visible. The entire building was designed by Milan-based studio Piuarch. In addition, there is a 700-tree olive grove around the building that will produce 900 liters of oil a year while a school to train leather craftsmen will also be located inside.

LVMH's investment in the facility is the highest ever tackled by the luxury conglomerate for a single Italian location and amounts to a sum of 50 million euros. Also at yesterday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, in addition to creative director Silvia Venturini Fendi, were Antoine Arnault, CEO of Berluti, chairman of Loro Piana as well as LVMH's communications director; Fendi CEO Serge Brunschwig; Regional President Eugenio Giani; Florence City Councilor Sara Funaro; and Bagno a Ripoli Mayor Francesco Casini, who called the new Fendi Factory «an engine for the economy and employment of the area, respecting the beautiful surrounding landscape, in a place that until recently was an environmental problem, abandoned and at the mercy of occupations».