Last year, Fendi put on its first ever haute fourrure show in Paris, with a Karl Lagerfeld-designed all-fur collection. Now, the house is set to do something else unheard of – return to its hometown of Rome to stage a fashion show at the city’s iconic Trevi Fountain. Taking place on the 7th of July, the event will mark the brand’s 90th anniversary this year, with a collection mysteriously dubbed “Legends and Fairytales”.
The show’s iconic centrepiece has spent the last year and a half behind scaffolding in a €2.2m Fendi-sponsored restoration project. It’s a fitting spot for the Italian heritage brand to mark its history, all while giving back to the city which has always been a creative stimulus for its designs.
For the house, it’s an opportunity to “express (their) roots and DNA while transmitting daring creativity and craftsmanship”.
Of course, this isn’t the first time Fendi have looked beyond the expected as a backdrop for their runway shows – in 2007 they staged one on top of The Great Wall of China. The fountain, too, has historic ties with fashion – perhaps its most famous moment came courtesy of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita (1960), where star Anita Ekberg frolics in the water in a backless black gown.
