Multimedia personality Raymond Gutierrez (left) and his sister-in-law, actress Sarah Lahbati-Gutierrez (center) grace the opening of Fendi Casa at the 10th floor of Twenty-Four Seven McKinley, 24th St. corner 7th Avenue McKinley Parkway, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.
Philstar.com/Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo; Fendi Casa/Released
MANILA, Philippines — Fendi Casa, luxury home label of Italian fashion house Fendi, recently swung open its third showroom in the world – the first in the Philippines and in Asia.
Nestled at the 10th floor of Twenty-Four Seven McKinley, 24th St. corner 7th Avenue McKinley Parkway, in the heart of Bonifacio Global City, Taguig’s financial and lifestyle district, the 220 square-meter showroom aims to unite fashion, architecture, craftsmanship and design in a masterful and immersive experience.
According to the brand, it chose the Philippines as its third showroom location in the world because of Filipinos' growing fondness for luxury fashion and interior design.
Split into seven rooms, the shop was designed by the same team behind Fendi Casa’s Milan and Miami showrooms and presents the same iconic pieces of the new collection, all designed by a community of established international designers and architects such as Atelier Oï, Marcel Wanders, and Thierry Lemaire, selected by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the third-generation matriarch of the Fendi family and Creative Director for menswear, accessories and children at the almost century-old fashion house in Rome.
“In the new Fendi Casa line, beauty finds its purpose in objects with the highest craftsmanship. This is our idea of interior design: elegant and light, classic yet innovative,” Silvia stated.
Reflecting the emblematic sequence of the Palazzo Fendi in Rome, the Manila showroom’s pieces carry the fashion label’s iconic codes, such as Pequin stripes, FF and Karligraphy logos designed by Fendi’s late Artistic Designer Karl Lagerfeld, who has since been succeeded by British designer Kim Jones.
Among the collection’s key pieces on view in the showroom are Atelier Oï’s Fun Fendi seating system, Marcel Wanders Studio’s Five sofa and armchairs, Toan Nguyen’s Marrakesh coffee tables and Sandia sofa and armchairs, as well as the Ford dining table and Doyle chairs, both designed by Fendi Casa Design Studio, and Thierry Lemaire’s Parsifal sofa and armchairs.
True to the fashion brand’s “fun” ethos, the showroom’s pieces are a playful mix of patterns and textures, taking inspiration from the brand’s trademark monograms and silhouettes like the Peekaboo bag, Baguette bag buckle, and Fendi yellow and stripes – rendered in luxurious materials such as exotic Gazelle fur cushion and in true Italian tradition, Murano glass on a tabletop. Other side tables are made of rare Calacatta marble.
Like the Carrara marble, Calacatta marble can also be quarried only in one place in the world -- Carrara, Italy. Although the two kinds of marble look the same and are predominantly white, Calacatta is double the price of the more usual Carrara marble since Carrara marble’s gray veins and streaks are stronger, more predominant, more orderly as if in a pattern, and sometimes coming in shades of gold (also known as Calacatta oro).
For tropical countries like the Philippines, there are tables topped with sustainable bamboo stick patterns for a resort feel, as well as a coach upholstered in shearling – fondly called “summer fur” since it’s not as hot as usual. Other rugs are made of a combination of mohair and all natural silk, making them so soft you can sleep on them!
Focus Global Inc. (FGI), an interior and home lifestyle retailer in the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia and Fendi Casa’s partner in the Philippines, said that Fendi Casa’s pieces are slightly more expensive than the other brand FGI is carrying, B&B Italia, with prices ranging from about half a million pesos for tables, around a million for rugs and over a million for upholstered goods.
Present at the showroom’s Manila opening was Alberto Da Passano, Fendi Casa Chief Executive Officer, the former President of FENDI for Europe and Middle East. He led the joint venture between Design Holding, a global group in the high- end design sector jointly controlled by Investindustrial and The Carlyle Group, and Fendi, the Italian luxury brand part of LVMH, to develop Fendi Casa under Fashion Furniture Design (FF Design), which was born on May 4, 2021.
Supported by an organizational structure, Da Passano is dedicated to the management of activities and the development of the all-round business in the main markets - starting with Asia - and to the integrated development of activities at the digital level.
FF Design develops the new Fendi Casa collections, available through selective retail and a network of new single-brand shops, which also aim to offer interior design services and improve the customer experience.
Jointly owned by investment groups Investindustrial and Carlyle with record “proforma” revenues of over €700 million in 2021, Design Holding is a global leader in high-end design, with a cultural heritage of European origin, characterized by multi-channel distribution and diversified product categories. Driven by a purpose of “We design for a beautiful life,” the group encompasses brands such as Flos, B&B Italia, Louis Poulsen, Maxalto, Arclinea, Azucena, Fendi Casa, Menu, by Lassen, and Lumens. Its catalogue features iconic objects designed by world-class designers including Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni, Tobia Scarpa, Luigi Caccia Dominioni, Poul Henningsen, Arne Jacobsen, Antonio Citterio, Gaetano Pesce, Philippe Starck, Piero Lissoni, Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison, Patricia Urquiola, Michael Anastassiades, and many others.
Meanwhile, the house of Fendi was established by Adele and Edoardo Fendi in Rome in 1925. After the opening of the first Fendi boutique, a handbag shop and fur workshop followed. Soon winning international acclaim, the brand emerged to be renowned for its elegance, craftsmanship, innovation and style. The collaboration with the late Karl Lagerfeld began back in 1965 and lasted for 54 years or until Karl’s death in 2019.
In 1992, Silvia Venturini Fendi seconded Karl, her mentor, as Artistic Director. In 1994, she is given responsibility of Leather Goods Accessories and then the direction of the Menswear line. In 2000, the LVMH Group acquired Fendi, becoming in 2001 its majority shareholder. In September 2020, Kim Jones is appointed Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear, while Delfina Delettrez Fendi, fourth generation of the Fendi family, joins the Maison as Artistic Director of Jewelry. Today, Fendi is synonymous with quality, tradition, experimentation and creativity.