Fendi is launching a capsule collection hinging on the brand’s storied FF logo to debut on Net-a-Porter on April 13 in an exclusive worldwide preview. The collection will be available for one month on the online store and, starting May 14, will be carried in select Fendi stores and on Fendi.com until the end of the year.
The launch of the capsule will be celebrated in London on April 12 with a special event, followed by a pop-up store in Dubai, United Arab Emerates, where Fendi’s headquarters in Rome at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana will be re-created in inflatable form April 19-29 at the Dubai Mall Fashion Catwalk.
The FF logo was designed by Karl Lagerfeld in 1965, standing for Fun Fur.
![Karl Lagerfeld's FF logo from 1965](https://footwearnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01_fendi-ff-logo_1965.jpg?w=724)
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Of the FF logo, Lagerfeld said that when he arrived at Fendi in 1965, the five Fendi sisters asked him “to create a small modern collection of furs. But I also wanted them to be fun, which is one of the Fendi codes. And since Fendi and fun have the same initials, I sketched the two letters together in less than five seconds, creating the FF logo, meaning Fun Furs.”
In the capsule, the logo is seen in an archival squared version dating back to 1974 and updated from the original rectangular version. The squared version was also presented in the pre-fall ’18 collection.
“This proves that certain things are everlasting,” Silvia Venturini Fendi told WWD exclusively. “There is so much history behind it, but today, this logo still has the same appeal for the new generations. It’s almost unchanged, and the strength is beyond the logo and time.”
Asked if she thought the reasons for seeking logoed products had changed over the years, Venturini Fendi said: “Absolutely. In the ’80s, it was more ostentatious — a logo was meant to show that you had made it. Now young people like it, and they are at the beginning of their professional life. It has a fashion connotation. It stems from the street, it’s a sign that you belong, and it’s often paired with sportswear.”
A logo, the designer said, helps communicate the strength of branding, and “it gives confidence and a sense of security. It’s about unchangeable solidity in a moment of great uncertainty.”
While the collection has a young vibe and street attitude, Venturini Fendi emphasized that the capsule remains positioned in the luxury range, and underscored the high quality and craftsmanship of the products.
The designer said the concept of logoed looks received “a lot of good feedback” after the fall ’18 show in February, where both archival and new logos featured in the lineup. “The value in vintage has quadrupled — it’s like wine,” said Venturini Fendi with a laugh.
![A look from the Fendi FF Capsule Collection](https://footwearnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01_fendi-and-nap-capsule-collection-images.jpg)
The capsule collection ranges from parkas and hoodies to the signature Rockoko sneaker and accessories including the Kan I, Peekaboo and the Runaway bag. The logo is incorporated in the classic tobacco and black colors and in a new black-and-white version. It is rendered in a combination of prints and intarsia on a shearling bomber jacket. The motif also appears as a mink fur intarsia on the front of a blouson featuring a knitted back, while it’s printed on a lightweight transparent raincoat. The logo stands out in a diagonal variation on the velvet jacquard pieces, including a bomber and a hoodie, and is printed on a silk pajama suit. It is presented in both a regular and a macro version on cashmere or silk knits, and embellishes cuffs and elastic waistbands of white cotton shirts with contrasting details at the collar and cotton gabardine pencil skirts.
The FF logo pops up on the velvet inserts on some of the staple bags, including the Kan I and Mini Kan I; the Peekaboo; the Runaway bag, available in the regular and small versions; as well as the Mon Trésor, Triplette and Wallet on Chain designs. Fendi’s detachable straps show the logo in a velvet carpetlike technique, as a shearling inlay and on leather. On footwear, the logo spruces up the sportier RockoPop running shoes, the Rockoko sneakers, the minimal flat sandals, and the Rockoko bootie and sandal.
The collection also includes a pair of sunglasses, an FF version of the mink bag charms in the traditional tobacco and black color contrast and a Witch charm, double-wrap bracelets and a selection of iPhone covers.
Net-a-Porter will launch the collection with an animated video featuring model Hana Jiříčková traveling through London, Dubai, Hong Kong and ending in Rome at Fendi’s headquarters as the logo takes over landmarks in each city.
A selection of pieces is exclusive to Net-a-Porter and include: two black-and-white FF logo knitwear and cotton tops, a tobacco silk pajama suit, the black and white Runaway leather bag, white RockoPop sneakers and mink and velvet carpetlike slippers.
The FF logo was initially reproduced on a jacquard fabric as an internal lining to the brand’s rigid travel trunks, in tobacco and black colors, and helped Fendi become a pioneer in launching bags with personalized fabrics.