MILAN — Fendi is planning the opening of its first store dedicated to its home line.
With 13 large windows on the street and covering 7,560 square feet, it will be located in central Milan in a landmark building a few steps away from the storied La Scala theater in the artsy Brera district.
The store is expected to open in March, ahead of the international furniture and design trade show Salone del Mobile, slated to run April 5 to 10 in Milan.
Serge Brunschwig, chairman and chief executive officer of Fendi, underscored the “unique location” of the store, and emphasized how the retail project stems from the new partnership with Design Holding and how it reflects the “great synergy” between the Fendi brand and its Casa collection. “The opening will reinforce Fendi’s presence in Milan to highlight the importance of this city as Italian capital of fashion and design,” he said.
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As reported, in May the Rome-based luxury company partnered with Design Holding, jointly controlled by Investindustrial and The Carlyle Group, to create Fashion Furniture Design, or FF Design, to develop the Fendi Casa business. The home line was previously produced and distributed by licensee Luxury Living, operating through Club House Italia.
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Under this new joint venture, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the house’s director of accessories and men’s wear continues to creatively lead the Casa collection, and with Brunschwig the designer has been spearheading a major evolution of the line.
“This new Fendi Casa flagship store is an important milestone in our journey with Fendi,” said Daniel Lalonde, CEO of Design Holding. “The project itself is not just a boutique, it’s a big statement of the allure and modernity of the new Fendi Casa. Placed right in the center of Milan, it will host the entire new collection characterized by the elegance and style of Fendi products, enhanced by Design Holding’s leadership in the design market.”
The first Casa collection created through the FF Design joint venture was previewed in October, staged at Fendi’s headquarters in Rome, at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, and it will be fully unveiled during the next edition of Salone del Mobile next year.
The line’s distribution will be even more selective now under the new agreement and, in addition to Milan, a number of directly operated stores in key cities such as Miami and Shanghai are in the pipeline.
Founded in November 2018, Design Holding comprises design, furniture and lighting companies B&B Italia, Flos and Louis Poulsen. In April, Design Holding entered into an agreement to acquire YDesign, one of the leading digital platforms in the U.S. for e-commerce in high-end lighting and furnishing products.
The new collection comprises items such as the Five sofa, designed by Marcel Wanders studio, presented with Metropolis, and a new coffee table designed by Atelier Oï that is inspired by the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana’s signature facade, with an oxidized metallic base and a sequence of arches topped with glass with an iridescent effect. Thierry Lemaire designed the Grand Plié sofa and armchairs, with a crafted metallic structure reminiscent of the ballet move supporting the seating in velvet and bouclé.
