Fendi has confirmed that Silvia Venturini Fendi, the final member of the family energetic in a creative function, will step down as Creative Director and assume the newly created title of honorary president. The transfer, efficient instantly, cements her legacy on the Roman luxurious home whereas elevating a urgent trade query: who will take the helm next?
Venturini Fendi’s profession has been intertwined with the model for greater than three a long time. From co-directing with Karl Lagerfeld in the ’90s to spearheading menswear and equipment, she turned synonymous with icons just like the Baguette and the Peekaboo. Most lately, she shouldered girls’s prepared-to-put on following Kim Jones’ departure in 2024.
“What a wonderful journey it has been, not only creatively but also from a human perspective,” Venturini Fendi stated, paying tribute to Lagerfeld, Jones, and her “fantastic team”.
Her new function will deal with preserving heritage, craftsmanship and Fendi Casa. But the appointment leaves the model’s future creative management conspicuously undefined. Industry insiders in Milan level to a shortlist of candidates, amongst them Francesco Risso and Willy Chavarria. But the one the trade is anticipating? Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Chiuri, who exited Dior in May after a seven-12 months tenure reshaping its girls’s collections, has a private {and professional} hyperlink to the Roman maison. She started her profession at Fendi earlier than shifting to Valentino and he or she retains shut ties with Venturini Fendi.
The timing additionally aligns with broader strategic shifts at Fendi. Ramon Ros, who took over as CEO in July, is tasked with navigating the model into its second century.
With Venturini Fendi now in an ambassadorial function, her successor will inherit each her legacy and the problem of charting Fendi’s creative identification for the next decade. All eyes are on Rome to see whether or not Chiuri is ready to take centre stage (in any other case generally known as the runway).