Fendi: last stop for the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Baguette bag, in Milan

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Cassidy STEPHENS

Published
Dec 5, 2022

Fendi has taken over the windows of the Rinascente department store in the heart of Milan. The Roman label, belonging to the luxury group LVMH, presented its latest collections, putting forward its Baguette bag and marking the end of a year festivities. The Italian house has put on a number of events in recent months to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its legendary model. An operation that has proved to be successful.

"Sales have exploded. Customers are asking us for both new models and reissues. There is a real collector's aspect to this bag, which has become a fashion symbol, a style icon," said Andrea Rigogliosi, Fendi's president Europe, at the opening of the Rinascente window display this Friday, December 2.
 
The brand is the centre of no less than nine windows of the prestigious Italian store until January 4, with a magical installation created with Odd Matter, a design studio from Rotterdam. Lights take over the store entrance, covering the entire arcade of the building and a giant projection takes over the facade.

Created in 1997 by Silvia Venturini Fendi, current creative director for accessories and men's ready-to-wear, with its elongated rectangular shape and mini shoulder strap and it's clasp featuring the two inverted F's, the Baguette bag was considered eccentric when it first came out.

Promoted at the time by the series Sex and the City, little by little, celebrities started snatching it up and it went down in history as the first it-bag of fashion. As did Carrie Bradshaw's line, "This is not a bag. It's a baguette".

Fendi has sold more than 1 million of the iconic bag, which has been constantly reinvented, and produced in nearly 1,000 versions. From embroidery, to sequins, though rhinestones, lace, different fabrics and an astonishing range of colors and finishes. The bag even came in a scented version.
 

Although 25 years ago, Fendi didn't even have a marketing division, as Silvia Venturini Fendi recalled in a recent interview, this is no longer the case. Surfing on the nostalgia for the 2000's, its iconic bag continues its momentum, taking advantage of the visibility it has gained from its 25th anniversary events, thanks to a carefully thought out and planned operation.

The festivities kicked off in New York last September, in the middle of Fashion Week with a dedicated Fendi show. A dedicated pop-up store was then inaugurated in Soho, also in New York, open until December 23, while a vast campaign was launched featuring Linda Evangelista, former supermodel of the 1990s, shot by the famous photographer Steven Meisel.
 
At the same time, various collaborations were announced with Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co. and Sarah Jessica Parker, while Fendi launched a new edition of its book "Hand in Hand", highlighting the skills of Made in Italy through a score of artisans, whom it asked to reinterpret its Baguette bag, each with its own specialty, including lace, brocade, mosaic, basketry and more.