Date: Italian, founded 1925

Biography: Fendi takes a decidedly non-traditional approach to the craft of fur-making. Fendi furs are quilted, deconstructed, and made reversible. Some are dyed in bold, unnatural shades. Unconventional, non-luxe furs, such as squirrel and weasel, are used as often as mink or sable. Fendi began as a small furrier and leather goods company in Rome, a family business founded in 1925 by Edoardo and Adele Fendi. Karl Lagerfeld was the company’s creative director from 1965 until his death in 2019, and was responsible for its ready-to-wear and fur collections. From 1978 until 1999, Fendi was controlled by the couple’s five daughters—Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda—who saw Lagerfeld as part of the family. “He’s the sixth Fendi child; our pasts and our future are intertwined,” Carla Fendi told Women’s Wear Daily in 1999. Lagerfeld explained to the New York Times in March 1985 that he prefered to “handle furs as if they were fabric—hairy fabrics.” He and the Fendi sisters stripped the fur coat of its weight, both literally, through the removal of heavy interior structures and linings, and figuratively, by eliminating its pretension. A Fendi fur often seems youthful and trendy, as do the company’s ready-to-wear garments. Fendi’s status in the luxury market has risen exponentially since the late 1990s, thanks to the success of its accessories line. By 1999, according to Newsweek International, accessories accounted for over forty per cent of Fendi’s sales. Silvia Venturini Fendi (a granddaughter of Fendi’s founders) has overseen the accessories line since 1994. She is the force behind the wildly popular—and whimsically named—“Baguette” handbag, which debuted in fall 1997. Silvia Fendi has often likened the Baguette’s appeal to that of couture clothing, as the style is available in a myriad of exceptional materials and designs. Fendi is now owned by the corporate group LVMH, and as Venessa Lau noted in the March 2009 issue of W magazine, Silvia is “the last Fendi standing.” She remains dedicated to Fendi’s legacy of quality and creativity.