Franca Fendi, 87, died in the night in Rome following an illness in her Camilluccia house. Third of the five Fendi sisters, Franca – with Paola, Anna, Carla (who passed away in 2017) and Alda – had managed the fashion house founded in Rome in 1925 by their parents, Edoardo Fendi and Adele Casagrande, turning it into one of the the most prestigious Italian brands in the world, thanks to the creativity and quality of leather goods and furs and the long collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld.
Franca Fendi had told her life in the autobiographical book “Sei con me. Our great, unique love story ”, published by Rizzoli in 2018. Childhood, dominated by a strong and determined mother who brought the Fendi maison to the heights of haute couture; her close and sincere relationship with the four sisters, with whom she shared the passion and the will to make the family business a point of reference on the world scene; the great love, marriage, children and grandchildren, but also the darkest moments of her husband’s illness, the difficulties faced together.
The five Fendi sisters had always said they felt like the five fingers of a hand: “Our adventure in this work – Carla Fendi said in the book” L’Italia della moda “- began when dad died, mom had to take into account on us and she did it with pain: we were girls, we were studying, and she had dreamed of us being housewives. For us it was natural, however, to get to work with her, but when we were in the company we thought we wanted to say something of our own. And it was not easy: young women like us, in the fur sector, in a field that has always been dominated by men ». Franca was in charge of the stores, while the other sisters deal with research on materials (Paola), style (Anna), public relations (Carla) and fur (the youngest, Alda).
In 1965 the decisive meeting with Karl Lagerfeld, then a young designer, who invented the double F logo and rethought the style of the brand in a more creative sense. Over the years, the maison has extended its collections and today other Fendi women remain at its creative guide, Silvia Venturini Fendi, daughter of Anna who signs menswear and accessories (her creations are the iconic Baguette and Pekaboo bags) and her daughter her, Delfina Delettrez, who takes care of the jewels. In 1999 the majority of the company was taken over by the Prada and LVMH groups: the latter became the sole owner in 2004.