Fendi Fur: Legends and Fairy Tales

Legends and Fairy Tales—a runway show straight out of a storybook. The recently refurbished Fellini-esque Trevi fountain was a majestic host for the magic of Fendi Fur. Karl Lagerfeld introduced folklore into his patternmaking. This approach was based on the work of Danish storybook illustrator Kay Nielsen. More specifically Karl chose East of the Sun and West of the Moon created in 1914 by folklorists Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe. The fairytale was based on stories they encountered in their conversations on a journey across Norway. The story is of a prince dressed as a bear who falls in love with a peasant girl. Taschen has reprinted a new version of East of the Sun and West of the Moon in 2015.

The show itself included many types of fur for the Haute Couture collection. Karl Lagerfeld used an array of vibrant earth tones personally reminiscent of a Cinderalla cartoon. Dresses had illustrations that included princesses, castles, majestic horses, flowers, and owls embellished with textured rococo.

The models walked on a runway made of glass over the water of the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The 90^th anniversary show was one of the largest in Europe, especially for this sector as fur is one of Fendi’s favourite textiles.

“Everything I see in this exhibition reminds me of something specific. It means a lot to me because it is part of my family history. I know Karl Lagerfeld is someone who doesn’t like to look back so I say that anniversaries are a good excuse to start new chapters.”

-said Silvia Venturini Fendi.

“In my wildest imagination, I never thought something like this could exist,”
“To do this on a crystal bridge over the most famous fountain in the world? If that’s not a fairy tale, I don’t know what a fairy tale is.”

– Karl Lagerfeld

This mid-length dress was made completely of fur. Fendi choose a camel coloured base with overlaying floral print accentuated tannic red wine hues. The dress looked warm and cosy for fall and winter.