Understated luxe, exotics, and fashion icons
“Simplicity is the new eccentricity,” Silvia Venturini Fendi once said. Venturini Fendi, the creative director of accessories, mens’ and children’s wear, and the third-generation member of the Italian fashion dynasty, is onto something: all good things, when refined to the level of simplicity, are a lot harder to achieve. The brand, founded in Rome as a handbag shop and fur workshop, has been able to achieve this since opening in 1925.
Today, it has two “it” bags that have transitioned into classics: the Baguette made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw, and the Peekaboo, on regular rotation on the wardrobes of Song Hye Kyo, Amal Clooney and Rihanna. You can peruse both popular styles and more with the women’s and men’s ready-to-wear collections by Kim Jones and Venturini Fendi, respectively, at the new flagship boutique at Greenbelt 3.
Amid the resurgence of aughts logomania, the Italian luxury brand Fendi knows about keeping it understated, allowing its exotic materials to speak for themselves — and where the “FF” logo is found, it is a seal of quality. The squarish FF logo created by Karl Lagerfeld when he joined Fendi in 1965 stands for “Fun Fur.” (Don’t worry about the quality of your fur and exotics — they are stored in a refrigerated room within the space, so you know you’ll receive them in the best condition.)
Back at the Greenbelt 3 store, Karl’s 54-year tenure is celebrated with his classics as well as his signed sketches displayed in the fitting rooms. The brand’s icons, some of them created by Lagerfeld, are illuminated against a hand 3D plaster backdrop featuring a declination of the FF logo in Astuccio Fur.
It’s the same pattern that highlights the collaboration with Rimowa (in-store in a matte all-black colorway) as well as the women’s silhouettes in the sold-out Fendi x Skims collab. There will be a second drop of Kim Kardashian’s partnership with Jones, to be announced by the brand tomorrow.
The interiors speak the brand’s DNA in hushed tones. Italian Arabescato Vagli marble spans across all 188 square meters of the store’s floor — the same type used in Roman churches. Ivory, gray, pink and yellow tones are the backdrop of women’s offerings, while a palette of cuoio (that’s Italian for leather, referring to a specific shade of beige found naturally in untreated leather hide), gray and green is for the men’s section. With an appointment and the sliding of two doors, the women’s section in the middle of the store can be transformed into a VIC room so you can shop with privacy. Concerned about shopping IRL in this pandemic? The store launders your RTW before the items go home with you.
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Fendi Greenbelt is on Level 1, Greenbelt 3, Esperanza Street, Makati, Philippines.
