Fendi: Designing a Dream

It may be one of the dons of the handbag, but the Italian house of Fendi also extends its forward-thinking aesthetic and touches of luxury leather and fur into the design world. Last year the LA-based indie band OK Go had their Gibsons enveloped in Fendi furs when they performed in a laser light show at Design Miami. The brand also fixed its signature handmade tag on this year’s Biennale di Architettura of Venice, collaborating with innovative New York architects Aranda/Lasch on Modern Primitives, an installation that gave visitors the chance to lounge around on angled foam structures covered with Fendi materials. This time, Fendi and its new consorts at London’s Gallery Fumi have crafted an off-beat collection of furnishings entitled In Every Dream Home—for example, a sideboard by Tina Roeder mixes jagged, linear chrome and smooth Fendi suede; Paul Kelley’s decadent mahogany armoire has sliding doors covered in the house’s eye-popping yellow and purple leather; and a circular mirror designed by Freddie Yauner features a digital, reflective diamond at its center. The crux of the brand is its experimental drive, explains Silvia Fendi: “Even now that we are a big company, we have total freedom in the design studio. It’s still a dreamland where you can really explore your way.” In Every Dream Home is at Fumi Gallery in London until October 31.