Fendi's 100th Anniversary Spectacular Revived Its Best Archival Looks

To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Fendi went all out for a centenary spectacular during Milan Fashion Week. Its runway show for the Fall/Winter 2025 collection, revealed on Wednesday, paid homage to some of its best archival looks over the years while infusing a modernity to appeal to the Fendi customer today.

From the very first seconds, the history of Fendi was the central theme of the show. To mark the centenary, Silvia Venturini Fendi—who creatively helms menswear, accessories, and children and who created the luxury fashion house's famed Baguette bag—called on her two six-year-old grandsons, Dardo and Tazio, to open the show by pushing open two imposing wooden doors, which were exact replicas of those of the very first Fendi boutique on Via Borgognona in Rome. A moving tribute to the origins of the house, founded in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi, and a reminder that, despite its integration into the LVMH group, Fendi remains first and foremost a family business.

While the position of artistic director remains vacant following the October 2024 departure of Kim Jones, the collection demonstrated that the DNA of the house remains intact. In homage to its beginnings as a fur and leather boutique, the 85 silhouettes of the show were largely dominated by these emblematic materials, with a modernized and ethical approach. Sheer dresses and form-fitted tailoring made their mark. While a few zebra mink coats made an appearance, the majority of the pieces were in shearling, proof of a desire to adapt to new expectations of luxury. On the red brick catwalk, a palette oscillating between delicate pastels and deep browns dressed silhouettes that were both structured and airy, between impeccable suits, dresses in degraded mohair and skirts in fluid lace.

References to the house's archives were omnipresent, without ever falling into the past, giving the collection a subtle balance between tradition and modernity. In terms of casting, Fendi brought together a constellation of stars, from supermodels like Adriana Lima, Yasmin Le Bon, Eva Herzigová, Karen Elson, and Penelope Tree to Sarah Jessica Parker in the front row. She was there to pay tribute to the legendary Baguette bag. She, after all, helped elevate it to its fashion icon status thanks to Sex and the City. The evening ended on a festive note with a surprise show by Sean Paul for an unexpected finale.

Wednesday's fashion show was more than just a glitzy showdown. This anniversary collection is a declaration of love to Fendi's legacy, a journey through a century of creation where each piece seemed to whisper the story of a Maison that, after a hundred years, continues to write its future with audacity and elegance.

See the full runway show in the video below.