Posted on: Friday, June 24, 2005
Fendi furs find stage in Islands
By Paula Rath
Advertiser staff writer
Furs in Honolulu in June? Sounds unseemly.
However last week, Fendi, arguably the world's most famous name in furs, presented a collection worth $2 million to a select group of Island socialites, celebrities and extremely serious shoppers.
Fendi Perhaps it's a lifestyle most of us can only dream of, but yes, there are women in our fair city (and the men who love them) who will fork over $25,000 for a fur to wear when they go skiing in Aspen, spend winter in the Alps or visit their Vermont home for Christmas.
Why did the Rome-based Italian firm choose Honolulu as a showcase? "We love the people of the Islands, and we feel that the people here know about luxury. Luxury is in the DNA of Fendi so we feel that it is a good match," said Fendi's Italian-accented president for North America, Gianluca Flore.
He added that the company is in the process of "reinventing ourselves. We are banking on the creativity of Karl Lagerfeld and we are expressing this creativity by researching new ways to process leather, furs and embellishments."
Lagerfeld, who is creative director for Fendi, is also head designer for the French fashion house of Chanel.
Of course, it helps that many visitors from Japan and South Korea prefer to shop for luxury goods in Honolulu, Flore added.
Like many high-end design firms throughout Europe and America, Fendi's strategy is to create a line of luxury goods that is more youthful and exuberant than in years past.
Although Fendi was purchased by LVMH last year, family member Sylvia Fendi still designs the shoes and handbags, and she's bringing a sexy, edgy, eclectic look to the line. Metallic python, alligator, mink, rabbit, feathers and embroidered velvet are just a few of the materials she combines for the company's most sought-after bag, the Spy Bag, that has received rave reviews in major fashion magazines and now has a waiting list similar to that of the Hermˇs Birkin bag.
In this year of over-the-top embellishment, Fendi has some intriguing details. For example, in a nod to the all-American pastime, Lagerfeld created a seam inspired by a baseball. However instead of being surrounded by a sweaty pitcher's palm, the seams, sewn in supple leathers in a chevron pattern, serve to hold together white sheared mink.
In a nod to boho chic, Lagerfeld combined lavender cashmere crocheted doilies with lavender dyed fox fur.
The Italian firm turns 80 years old in 2005, but it seems to be growing younger by the minute.
At the invitation-only show, svelte models navigated through the crowds in Karl Lagerfeld-designed mink bomber jackets, silver fox caplets, Russian sable shawls, chinchilla ponchos and a collection of iconic Spy Bags, not to mention some of the sexiest stilettos we've seen all season, in the Veranda at the Kahala Mandarin Oriental Hawaii.
Fendi came to the Islands last week to showcase its $2 million collection of furs to a select few.
