Fendi is spreading out in Miami.
The Italian luxury house is reopening its expanded boutique Wednesday in the Miami Design District, spanning over 6,700 square feet. The boutique offers women’s and men’s leather goods, accessories and ready-to-wear collections across two levels, where Fendi codes are combined with Miami’s vibrant energy, pastel color palette and lively atmosphere.
The Miami Design District store represents Fendi’s second largest store in the U.S., followed by New York, which is 6,900 square feet. Among its neighbors at the Miami Design District are luxury brands such as Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Celine, Hermès and Cartier.
Fendi more than doubled its space having first moved into the Miami Design District in October 2015 with a 3,120-square-foot store.
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Craig Robins, founder and chief executive officer of Dacra Development, the developer of the Miami Design District and the cofounder and co-owner of Design Miami, an international design fair that takes place annually in Miami in December, said Fendi had a freestanding building and rented the property next door and combined the two into one flagship.
As reported, Fendi will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year with a coed fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in February. Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of accessories and menswear collections, is leading the design effort. The runway event will also coincide with the reopening of Spazio Fendi on Via Solari in Milan, the Roman brand’s longtime runway theater and showroom, which has been undergoing renovation, as reported
Roman Roots
Recognizing Fendi’s Roman roots, the Miami store’s facade features four grand arches inspired by ancient Roman architecture. Custom-made three-dimensional glass bricks in three different shapes and depths are assembled to reflect an ocean wave, creating an inspiring effect at night while reflecting the lights of the city.
The gallery, located on the exterior side of the boutique, features light pink tiles customized with the FF logo that cover the walls and ceiling. This outdoor space is characterized by lush tropical greenery and secluded lounge areas.
Upon entering the boutique, guests are welcomed into the area that features women’s leather goods and accessories collections. A geometric Patagonia and travertine marble flooring is inspired by the Roman marble patterns seen at the Temple of Venus in Rome, a symbolic location that hosted the Fendi Couture fall/winter 2019-2020 show. Hand-tufted carpets are inspired by the path of the Roman river Tevere, featuring a curvilinear design in a Miami-inspired palette of green and pink tones.
On the first floor, special furniture pieces include Jia chairs by Atelier de Troupe, as well as a Universe round table by Arda Yeniay and a Marula chair by Akha Yeniay, both from Studio Twentyseven Gallery. Ribbed travertine walls with archive FF logo details complement silver or champagne metal accents and walnut wood touches, creating a luxurious yet warm atmosphere.
The store features a custom-designed display table by Roberto Sironi with upside-down arches, that is crafted from Rima marble. The same materials also shape an art piece designed by Sironi, that recalls the Selleria handmade stitching that has been part of Fendi’s codes since its founding in 1925. The Fendi yellow marble stitches travel from the first floor to the second, displayed on a ribbed travertine wall that recalls a Roman column.
There’s a blond walnut wooden staircase leading to the second floor. It opens to a relaxed space with the same Patagonia and travertine marble flooring accented by hand-tufted, colorful graphic rugs inspired by the Miami skyline in tones of blue and green.
Fendi’s menswear offering is showcased in a sequence of champagne metal and Patagonia displays, in contrast with the ribbed travertine walls. The space features dedicated seating areas encompassing furniture from Studio Twentyseven gallery, with an Emmanuelle Simon high design seating area, and a Universe Round table in travertine by Arda Yeniay.
The women’s area on the second floor is lit up by a handmade vetrofusion glass wall placed at the center of the space, featuring two arches in continuity with the external face of the boutique. Display tables by Fendi Casa complement the space, together with a living area with two dedicated high design seating areas by Alter Ego and by Charlotte Biltgen.
A private VIC area is decorated with fringe gradient curtains that fade from pink to ivory, accented by a stainless-steel wall. The special room is decorated with Fendi Casa furnishings and a custom-colored concrete art piece by Italian artist Edoardo Piermattei.
In a telephone interview last week, Silvia Venturini Fendi said, “The store is great. It’s totally renovated and I can’t wait to see it.”
Venturini Fendi is perhaps best known as the woman who in 1997 masterminded the iconic Baguette bag, and as the designer of Fendi menswear since 2000. She is the granddaughter of Adele Fendi, who founded the family business with a leather goods and luggage shop in Rome in 1925. Awaiting the appointment of Kim Jones in late 2020, Venturini Fendi soldiered on as the main creative force and media figurehead following the death in February 2019 of Karl Lagerfeld, the German designer who had created furs and women’s rtw for the Roman house since 1965, as reported. She also collaborates with her daughter Delfina Delettrez Fendi, jewelry creative director at the Roman house.
Venturini Fendi anticipates that the Fendi menswear and accessories that she designs will do well at the Miami store. She said the baguette will be featured prominently in the offerings, together with the other handbags. “There’s no Fendi without the baguette,” she said.
“We are growing together with the city,” said Fendi. “We felt the need to enlarge our store because we are doing great.”
Major Changes in Miami
She said she’s seen tremendous changes in Miami since she’s been going there. When she first went to Miami, the Design District wasn’t even there yet. But Robins told her his ambitious plans. Soon after, everything he was telling her was there. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“I always say you can’t understand how much art and design can change the perspective of the city. Today Miami is a very creative city and it’s a city that welcomes creativity. And you can really feel it during this week, all the different disciplines to see and be inspired,” said Venturini Fendi.
Discussing overall holiday business at the Miami Design District, Robins said, “The year has been very solid. Our sales are up. There’s great energy around and we’re expecting things to continue.”
Design Miami Fair
In addition to the expanded store at the Miami Design District, Fendi has invited London-based designer Lewis Kemmenoe to create a new body of work that combines the sensibilities of his own practice and those of Fendi. The pieces will not be for sale at this time; they are unique design pieces shown at the Design Miami Fair, which started in 2005.
Following a period of research, which included visits to Rome’s museums, botanical gardens and Fendi’s headquarters at Palazzo della Civilta Italiana, as well as the Fendi Factory in the Tuscan countryside, Kemmenoe created his Aenigma collection. The title is both the Latin word for riddle or puzzle and is also associated with the word “enigma” in English which means something hard to understand or explain.
Born in Gravesend, Kent, and now based in London, Kemmenoe received a bachelor’s degree in fine art at Central Saint Martins and later a master’s degree in design at the Royal College of Art. He started producing furniture as his fascination with functional objects grew, drawing on influences from architecture, fashion and design along the way.
In the Aenigma collection, box joints are used as a construction technique but also as an organic vehicle to integrate the Fendi FF motif, a jacket pattern from the fashion house’s atelier is reimagined into timber patchwork — a staple of Kemmenoe’s work, and the bark of pine trees that permeate Rome are cast into brass and aluminum. A duality in materials is evident throughout the collection, whether that be timber or stone, which is offset with processed materials such as metal. A pair of Fendi chairs appear in two different materials, one predominantly brass, one aluminum.
The collection comprises two chairs, a cabinet, two wall panels, three lamps, a coffee table, and an iconic Peekaboo soft bag.
For example, the brass and aluminum lamps are structured into organic forms, illuminated through burl wood. The wall panels are aluminum, backlit illuminating burl wood, cut to the shape of a clothing pattern.
The bag is made of Fendi leather cut into a jacket pattern from the Fendi artisans, then affixed together and patch-worked to emulate a key motif of his work. The hardware carries a further connection, a timber used throughout the Aenigma collection forms the internal bar, while silver and brass screws reflect the two prominent metals in the furniture. Upon opening the Peekaboo soft bag, a hidden wood texture becomes exposed.
Kemmenoe’s Design Process
“It’s been a really organic process,” Kemmenoe told WWD. “I had a concept when approaching the project to absorb Fendi’s identity as a Roman staple and to allow that to inform the design process. A lot of the materials I used were inherently Roman, a lot of stone, dark timber and a color palette referencing raw materials.”
He called a few aspects in the collection “a subtle nod to the maison.”
“I’ve applied a patchwork on the chairs in the collection, a technique that I often use, but in this iteration the patchwork is cut into the shape of jacket patterns from the Fendi atelier,” said Kemmenoe.
He noted that he’s really excited to see the pieces placed in the booth in Miami. “I think I’ll have a different perspective on the work. When I’m in the studio in the production stage, it’s hard to imagine how the work will feel in the environment of the fair, so it will be interesting to see,” he said.
Asked what he took away from the experience, Kemmenoe said, “It’s been a really liberating project. I’ve had loads of freedom when producing the pieces so I’ve taken a lot of pleasure from that. I’ve felt a lot of trust in my process from Fendi, and I think that’s fed back into the final collection.”
Venturini Fendi added, “What excites me every time is to look for somebody who’s taking risks and embracing challenges.” She said in this particular project, she found the elements of what Kennemoe does is very similar “to our approach,” in the way he mixes organic materials together and his work in shapes. “There’s a lot of interesting exchange. I think he’s been very inspired by our way of working, and I’m inspired by his way of working,” she said. She said she likes how he did the adjoining Fs, for example. When she looks at his work, “many things talk to me.”
When she saw his work and they chose to work with him, she felt that his work could be translated into Fendi products. She said designers are frequently inspired by Fendi. She said she likes to see how they see with their eyes a story that she knows very well.
“I’m a big fan of design,” said Venturini Fendi. “I collect design more than art. The approach to design is very similar to the approach we have to fashion and to accessories. It’s not only pure creativity but you have to deal with function. I thought it was interesting for us [Fendi and Kemmenoe] to do something together.” Fendi has participated in 16 editions of Design Miami from the beginning. “Every time we bring a new project,” she said.
Robins said that Fendi has sponsored Design Miami since 2007. “They work with a designer each year, and they do incredible installations at the show. They produce new furniture and it’s amazing what they do.”
He said Design Miami is “like the Art Basel for furniture. It’s the most important furniture collecting show in the world.” He said the show features collectible furniture for sale, either limited edition or historical material. The Fendi furniture, though, isn’t for sale.
Synergy
Robins elaborated that Miami Design District and Design Miami have an interwoven history and are always collaborating in a lot of ways. “A lot of what you see around the Miami Design District is related to activations in Design Miami,” said Robins. He said Design Miami got so big that it moved to the Miami Convention Center.
“All of the stores consider the Miami Design District as a location for global flagship stores, and they express themselves in different ways,” said Robins. There’s an outdoor museum of art, architecture and design available to the public. “Wherever you walk, you see things,” said Robins.
This year Fendi has seen a flurry of changes, including the exits of longtime Fendi CEO Serge Brunschwig and British designer Kim Jones, who in October stepped down after four years as Fendi’s artistic director of haute couture, ready-to-wear and fur collections for women. Fendi chief executive officer Pierre-Emmanuel Angeloglou succeeded Brunschwig last June.
