Fendi
A Roman house born of fur and leather craft — home of the FF monogram and the Baguette.
Fendi was founded in Rome in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi as a fur and leather workshop. Karl Lagerfeld joined in 1965 and stayed over five decades, creating the interlocking double-F 'FF Zucca' motif; Silvia Venturini Fendi designed the Baguette bag in 1997, one of the first 'It' bags. The house joined LVMH in 2001.
Rome, 1925. A workshop
before it was a house.
Fendi was founded in Rome in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi, as a fur and leather workshop with a small boutique. It grew into a family house run across generations by their five daughters. In 1965 Karl Lagerfeld joined as designer and stayed for over five decades — an extraordinarily long creative partnership — reinventing fur as a modern material and creating the interlocking double-F “FF” Zucca motif.
In 1997 Silvia Venturini Fendi designed the Baguette, one of the first “It” bags and a piece that helped define the modern handbag economy. Fendi became part of the LVMH group in 2001. Through every change it has kept its Roman identity and its origin in worked skins and fur.
The marks of the house.
- 01The FF ZuccaThe interlocking double-F motif devised by Lagerfeld in 1965 — one of fashion’s most recognised monograms.
- 02Fur, reinventedA house built on fur craft, treating pelts with techniques closer to couture than to outerwear.
- 03The BaguetteSilvia Venturini Fendi’s 1997 bag — compact, worn under the arm like its namesake, and endlessly reissued.
- 04Roman leatherSelleria hand-stitched leather goods, saddle-stitched in the Roman artisan tradition.
"A house that began at the workbench never quite forgets the hand — you feel it in the seams."— Anemoia Vestiaire, on Fendi
Fur, leather, and the hand.
Fendi is best understood through the materials it was built on. Our notes on fur and leather set out how to read quality, construction and condition in exactly these pieces.
Why vintage Fendi
is sought after.
Fendi’s fur and leather work, and its Lagerfeld-era pieces, are collected for craft that is expensive to reproduce today. Well-kept examples carry construction and materials that reward close inspection — and they have already lasted.
Vintage is often the way to own the house at its most characterful: the workbench era, before the monogram became the point.
Fendi is empty for now.
Every Fendi piece that comes through the vestiaire is one of one — once it finds a home, the archive is empty until the next one arrives. Leave your email and we'll write the moment we have another.
Noted — we'll email you the moment Fendi returns to the archive.
About Fendi.
What does the Fendi FF logo stand for?
The interlocking double-F is called the 'FF Zucca' motif, devised by Karl Lagerfeld in 1965 when he joined the house as designer. It is one of fashion's most recognized monograms and marks Lagerfeld's more than five-decade creative partnership with Fendi.
When was the Fendi Baguette bag created?
Silvia Venturini Fendi designed the Baguette in 1997. Compact and worn under the arm like its namesake loaf of bread, it became one of the first genuine 'It' bags and has been endlessly reissued since.
How did Fendi start?
Fendi was founded in Rome in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi as a fur and leather workshop with a small boutique. It grew into a family house run across generations by their five daughters before Karl Lagerfeld joined as designer in 1965.
Who owns Fendi today?
Fendi became part of the LVMH group in 2001, though it has kept its Roman identity and its origin in worked skins and fur throughout every change in ownership and creative direction.
Why is vintage Fendi fur and leather sought after?
Fendi's fur and leather work, especially from the Lagerfeld era, involved craft techniques closer to couture than to ordinary outerwear, and that level of construction is expensive to reproduce today. Well-kept vintage examples reward close inspection and have already proven their durability.