Fendi and her sisters transformed the family business into a global luxury brand
Franca Fendi, one of five sisters who helped develop and expand a small Roman leather goods workshop into an internationally recognized luxury brand, died in Rome on October 5 at the age of 87. According to family members, she was struck by a sudden illness.
Born in 1935 to Edoardo and Adele Fendi, Franca was the third eldest of five sisters. Her parents founded the fashion house in 1952 as a small bag and fur shop on Via del Plebiscito, a stone’s throw away from Via del Corso, one of Rome’s major shopping streets. The Fendi sisters – Paola, Anna, Franca, Carla, and Alda – later recalled having to sleep in drawers in the shop due to their parents’ long working hours.
1977 Sisters Fendi in their Atleier. in the photo Alda. Paola. Franca. Carla. and Anna. (Photo by: AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
From a young age, Franca participated in the management of the family business. She became purchasing manager in the early 1960s after her father suffered a major stroke and handed control of the business over to his daughters. In 1965, the Fendi sisters brought in then-new German designer Karl Lagerfeld to create a women's ready-to-wear-line. While Lagerfeld is perhaps better known for his time and work at Chanel, he dedicated 54 years of his life to the Italian brand, the longest collaboration between a designer and fashion house in the industry’s history. Lagerfeld’s adoption into the Fendi family name marked a turning point for the business. His design choices, such as a reimagining of the classic fur coat, helped transform the small Roman business into a global luxury fashion house.
Franca held retail responsibilities over Fendi’s stores in Rome until the business was sold in 1991 to French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Prada, who bought a controlling 51 percent of the fashion house. LVMH bought control of Prada’s stake in 2001.
In 2018, Franca released her memoir titled Sei Con Me (You Are With Me), an intimate look into her career and her life, including her marriage to Luigi Formilli, who died in 2001. She is survived by the four children she shared with Formilli, Guido, Andea, Luca, and Federica, and her grandchildren.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy, currently pursuing her master's in journalism at New York University (NYU). In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura, and The Christian Science Monitor. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.