Fendi: A Century-Long Family Story, Etching Memories of Rome into Scent

“The fragrance collection tells Fendi’s story from another perspective. It expresses our essence in a different language. Today, we can say that Fendi has engaged all the senses.”
— Silvia Venturini Fendi (Fendi Creative Director)

Basic Information

• Founded: 1918 (established as Adele Casagrande) / 1925 (renamed and formally founded as Fendi)
• Founder: Adele Casagrande (later Adele Fendi)
• Official website: fendi.com

The Founder and the Origins of the Brand

A Story That Began with a Roman Leather Artisan (1918–1924)

The whole story began with one young Roman woman.

Born in Rome in 1897, Adele Casagrande was fascinated by craftsmanship from a young age. In 1918, she opened a small leather goods and fur workshop on Via del Plebiscito in central Rome. Compared with Paris or Milan, Rome at the time was not known as a “fashion capital,” but the quality of her materials and attention to detail quietly won the trust of Roman aristocrats and travelers.

Publicly available primary information on the specifics of Adele’s childhood and detailed accounts of how she first entered her craft remains limited at this point.

The Birth of Fendi and a Growing Family (1925–1945)

In 1925, Adele married Edoardo Fendi and renamed the workshop Fendi, taking her husband’s surname. Located on Via del Plebiscito, the shop focused on bags and fur products. A second store opened on Via Piave in 1932, helping establish its reputation among wealthy Romans.

Adele and Edoardo had five daughters: Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda. This would determine the protagonists of Fendi’s next chapter.

The Era of the Five Sisters: “Five Fingers of One Hand” (1946–1964)

When Edoardo Fendi died in 1954, his daughters came to share the management of the business with Adele. From 1946 onward, the five sisters joined the family business one after another, each assuming a clearly defined role.

• Paola: Oversight of the fur division​
• Anna: Design of bags and accessories​
• Franca: Leather goods and customer relations
• Carla: Overall management, earning her the nickname “The General”​
• Alda: Management of the fur salon​

Their responsibilities complemented each other brilliantly, making the most of the strengths of a family business. Karl Lagerfeld would later describe them as “five fingers forming a single hand.”

Adele Casagrande Fendi died in 1977, but the five sisters continued to safeguard the Fendi brand.​

A Historic Encounter with Karl Lagerfeld (1965–2019)

The most important turning point in Fendi’s history came in 1965. The five sisters appointed Karl Lagerfeld, a young German designer who was still relatively unknown, as creative director of the fur collection.

This decision marked the beginning of a 54-year collaboration, said to be the longest in fashion history.​

Lagerfeld’s first revolution at Fendi was to redefine fur as a material. Until then, fur had been little more than “a formal status symbol given to wealthy women by their husbands.” He changed that fundamentally. Introducing new techniques one after another, such as shaving, dyeing, and weaving fur into lightweight forms, he created the concept of “playful, modern fur.”

“Bourgeois fur disappeared. And Fendi became a modern house that revolutionized how fur was seen, made, handled, and worn.”
— Karl Lagerfeld​

In 1966, Lagerfeld created the double-F logo, or FF, almost spontaneously.

“‘Fendi’ and ‘fun’ begin with the same letter. So, in less than five seconds, I put two Fs together. Double F: it means ‘Fun Furs.’”
— Karl Lagerfeld

This simple logo eventually became an iconic monogram used on bags, clothing, and accessories. The large-scale Zucca print appeared in 1967, further establishing Fendi’s visual identity.​

Lagerfeld remained Fendi’s creative director until his death in 2019.​

Joining LVMH, and Moving into the Fourth Generation (1999–Present)

In October 1999, LVMH and Prada jointly acquired a 51% stake in Fendi. In November 2001, LVMH bought Prada’s 25.5% holding for approximately €295 million, becoming Fendi’s majority shareholder. LVMH further increased its stake in February 2003. Today, Fendi is regarded as the fourth-largest fashion brand within LVMH.

Leading Fendi today are Silvia Venturini Fendi, the third generation from Adele and creative director of accessories, menswear, and childrenswear, and fourth-generation Delfina Delettrez Fendi, artistic director of jewelry.

Kim Jones, appointed in 2020 as artistic director of womenswear and haute couture, also joins these creative standard-bearers as part of the “chosen family.”

The Brand’s Distinctive Commitments

The Magnetic Pull of Rome

Fendi’s essence is “Roman before it is Italian.” The brand’s deep attachment to Rome has been demonstrated through tangible actions, not just words. It supported the restoration of the Trevi Fountain and, in 2019, invested €2.5 million in restoring the Temple of Venus and Romulus (the Tempio di Venere e Roma), where it also staged a haute couture show.

In 2015, the headquarters moved into the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the Palace of Italian Civilization, a building commissioned by Mussolini and commonly called the “Square Colosseum.” Leased for €2.8 million a year, the building is clad in pure white travertine marble, with arches arranged in orderly rows of six vertically and nine horizontally. It is a symbolic place where the spirit of ancient Rome meets modern rationalist architecture.

A Fragrance Philosophy: Faith in the Purity of Materials

The current fragrance business, launched in 2024, is fundamentally different from the earlier licensed-production model. Although supported by LVMH’s fragrance division, Fendi develops and manufactures its perfumes “in-house,” and limits distribution to its own boutiques and official website.

Each perfume uses the finest ingredients from around the world. Tunisian orange blossom absolute, Calabrian bergamot, Indonesian patchouli, French iris, Madagascan vanilla, Brazilian tonka bean, and Turkish Damask rose are sourced with meticulous attention to origin. The average fragrance concentration is said to be approximately 18%, giving a luxurious, highly concentrated finish approaching that of parfum.

The Bottle as Architecture

The glass fragrance bottles are handcrafted by master glassmakers. Precision-cut arches are carved into their bases, inspired by the repeated arches of Fendi’s headquarters, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. The bottles are designed to be refillable, with brass details and caps engraved with the FF logo. When all seven bottles are lined up, they form a single color gradient, an effect that recalls the Roman sky at dusk.

The Fragrance Lineup

Chapter One: The Licensing Era (1985–2009)

Fendi first released a perfume in 1985. Named Fendi by Fendi, it is classified as a floral-aldehydic chypre by the Société Française des Parfumeurs, the French Society of Perfumers. Top notes of bergamot, aldehydes, and rosewood are layered with large blossoms such as rose, jasmine, and tuberose, before a powerful base including oakmoss and labdanum brings it to a close. With its commanding presence, the fragrance embodied the era of “power shoulders.” No publicly available information confirming the original perfumer’s name could be found at this point.

Fendi Uomo, a men’s fragrance, appeared in 1988, followed by several more perfumes through the 1990s.​

• Asja (1992): An oriental fragrance by Jean Guichard, layering complex materials including apricot, raspberry, cinnamon, Bulgarian rose, and Egyptian jasmine​
• Fantasia (1996): A fruity-sweet fragrance​
• Theorema (1998): A spicy-oriental fragrance. Abundant spices, including pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mingle with guaiac wood and patchouli to create a dark allure. It remains a much-discussed classic in the fragrance community.

These fragrances were offered under a licensing agreement with YSL Beauté, part of the Gucci Group, but the entire lineup was discontinued when the agreement ended in 2005.

LVMH took over the license in 2006, and in 2007 released Fendi Palazzo with Christian Dior Perfumes & Cosmetics as its distribution partner. However, it was discontinued in 2009 because “sales did not meet expectations,” after which Fendi disappeared from the perfume market for approximately 15 years.

In the 2010s, fragrances such as Fan di Fendi (2010) were released as part of a licensing business. Created by perfumers Delphine Lebeau and François Demachy, it features a fruity-floral opening, a soft jasmine heart, and a base of leather and patchouli characteristic of Fendi. Fan di Fendi developed into a series with several variations, including EDT, EDP, Eau Fraîche, and Extreme.

Chapter Two: A Family Collection Dedicated to the Centenary (From 2024)

On June 20, 2024, Fendi made a full-fledged return to the perfume market after approximately 15 years. Developed in-house, the collection of seven fragrances was conceived to tell the Fendi family’s story through scents dedicated to individual people.

“It is not simply the beginning of a new chapter: we should call it the beginning of a new century. It opens the celebration of one hundred years of history.”
— Silvia Venturini Fendi​

Three perfumers support the collection: Quentin Bisch, Fanny Bal, and Anne Flipo. Each fragrance costs €300. Alongside all seven perfumes, a discovery set offering 10 ml of each was also made available, likewise priced at €300. Miniatures presented in leather charm cases were offered as well.

The Seven Fragrances and Their Respective “People”:

Fragrance	Person Honored	Perfumer	Main Notes
Casa Grande	Adele Casagrande (founder)	Quentin Bisch	Cherry, amber, leather, myrrh, vanilla, tonka bean​
Dolce Bacio	Anna Fendi (second generation)	Anne Flipo	Apricot, patchouli, Damask rose
Perché No	Silvia Venturini Fendi	Quentin Bisch	Pink pepper, incense, sandalwood
Sempre Mio	Delfina Delettrez Fendi	Quentin Bisch	Calabrian bergamot, Atlas cedar, orange blossom
Ciao Amore	Leonetta Luciano Fendi	Fanny Bal	Fig, tonka bean (inspired by the island of Ponza)
La Baguette	Tazio and Dardo (Delfina’s twin sons)	Anne Flipo	French iris, Madagascan vanilla, leather​
Prima Terra	Kim Jones (creative director)	Quentin Bisch	Tangerine from Calabria and Sicily, rosemary from Tunisia and Morocco, oakmoss​

Silvia’s fragrance, Perché No, is said to have been inspired by the time she spends at the family’s country estate, Casali del Pino, outside Rome. Silvia herself likens the scent to “white sheets dried in the sun.”

Delfina’s Sempre Mio, meanwhile, holds her Moroccan ancestry and memories of the Ourika Valley, where she spent her childhood.

“What brings someone most vividly to mind is their scent. I think fragrance has a deep and profound influence on a person’s history.”
— Silvia Venturini Fendi​

Recent Releases (2025–2026)

The collection has continued to expand.

Eaux D’Artifice (summer 2025): Conceived by Delfina Delettrez Fendi, this fragrance takes the Trevi Fountain at night as its theme. Created by Jérôme di Marino, it layers mineral and aquatic notes with musk, juniper, and cypress, distinguished by a faint metallic nuance that recalls coins tossed into the fountain.​

“Like jewelry, perfume is a quiet accessory that communicates who we are and who we want to be.”
— Delfina Delettrez Fendi​

Sogni d’Oro (March 2026): The latest creation by perfumer Quentin Bisch. Sogni d’Oro means “golden dreams” in Italian and refers to the bedtime phrase “sogni d’oro, tesoro,” or “sweet dreams, my treasure.” Taking as its theme the moment at dusk in Rome when cobblestones and buildings turn saffron and ocher, it combines bright leather, French iris, and Italian bergamot.

By the Way…

• Fendi’s bond with Rome quietly inhabits even its fragrance bottle design. The arches carved into the bottles mirror those of its headquarters, the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana. Also known as the “Square Colosseum,” the building has evenly arranged vertical and horizontal rows of arches. One theory holds that their numbers correspond to the letters in the dictator Mussolini’s full name, “Benito Mussolini,” with six letters in Benito and nine in Mussolini. Fendi sparked controversy by choosing this historically and politically complicated building as its headquarters. Responding to criticism, Fendi’s CEO said, “It is not a problem for me. It is not a problem for Roman citizens or for Italians.”
• The title of the 2025 fragrance Eaux D’Artifice, “the art of water,” also conveys Fendi’s wit through a play on the French feux d’artifice, meaning fireworks. It is likewise intriguing that Silvia’s personal philosophy, Perché No, or “Why not?”, became a fragrance name, embodying her rebellious spirit.