The most beautiful gift a brand can give itself to celebrate its hundred years of existence is a bouquet of flowers frozen in matter, suspended outside of time.
To mark its centenary, Fendi unveiled "Fonderia Fendi," an exclusive project presented at Design Miami in December. Designed by Argentinian designer Conie Vallese, this collection of refined furniture and objects unfolds as a sensitive evocation of the history and values of the Roman fashion house.
A sculptor, painter, ceramicist, and tapestry artist, Conie Vallese develops a multidisciplinary practice inspired by flowers and the intricate patterns found in nature. Exploring notions of beauty, fragility, and resilience, her work reflects the delicate balance between strength and vulnerability. The pieces created for Fonderia Fendi were crafted with meticulous care and presented in warm, pastel tones, establishing a romantic and delicate atmosphere true to the artist's world. Here, even the smallest details can tell the grandest of stories.
The collection comprises a chair, a bench, and a bronze screen upholstered in leather panels punctuated with distinctive stitching. These pieces are adorned with flowers crafted from the same metal, appearing to have emerged naturally from the material, as if polished by the passage of time. The choice of materials is remarkably apt: bronze symbolizes an enduring past, while the leather and its finishes echo the craftsmanship of the renowned leather goods brand Fendi. The vases are mouth-blown in Murano, while the embossed floral motifs reflect Vallese's Argentinian heritage. The soft pastel yellow and sky blue hues evoke bucolic landscapes, contrasting with the raw character of the leather and bronze. Conie Vallese has also designed a special edition of the Peekaboo, the iconic bag from the Italian house, accessorized for the occasion with a floral ceramic handle produced by Officine Saffi Lab.
Imbued with a strong artisanal heritage, the pieces in this collection pay homage to Fendi's family history. Founded in Rome in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi, the luxury fashion house began as a fur workshop and handbag manufacturer. In the 1950s, the management was taken over by the five Fendi sisters – Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda – whom Karl Lagerfeld, chosen as creative director, often compared to the five fingers of a hand, so complementary were their talents in enabling the brand's growth. This metaphor fueled the imagination of Conie Vallese, who drew inspiration from it for the project's narrative. Celebrating the power of collaboration and nodding to Italy's lavish participation in the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts, the artist worked with five Italian workshops, each an expert in a different material: the Fendi leather workshops, the historic Milanese foundry Fonderia Battaglia, the Officine Saffi Lab ceramics studio, the cc-tapis weavers, and the Venetian glass studio Barovier & Toso, founded in the 13th century.e century.
Driven by a surge of optimism, Conie Vallese chose the flower, and more specifically the lily, as the central symbol of the collection. Evoking nobility and femininity, it becomes a vehicle for emotion through the diversity of its forms, its imperfections, and its irregularities. Far from detracting from the overall harmony, these imperfections reveal its full beauty and delicacy.
From this encounter between Conie Vallese and Fendi was born a romantic and timeless collection marked by a remarkable attention to detail. Each piece pays homage to a century of artisanal excellence, extending the history of the Italian fashion house through a contemporary, sensitive, and profoundly human vision.
