Anna

There has been a lot of fur on the catwalks this year from Jean Paul Gaultier to Dior. But the real leaders in this field are the fabulous Fendi.  Furs from fox to mink remain a controversial subject but the visit to Fendi really open your eyes up to the pure workmanship and detail that goes into these luxurious coats and accessories. 

Since the beginning when Fendi was founded in Rome it has been a fur and leather goods business and it has remained true to its heritage. Now with Karl Lagerfeld at the helm of the brand Fendi seem to be going from strength to strength and using new electro technologies to lead the way in fur. After trying out a number of coats ranging from €8000 to €120,000 (for an amazing gold coated fur jacket), we then moved onto the accessories. The latest achievement being the exclusive “Peekaboo” bag. The important thing to remember about luxury is that they market products for the elite for the rich and the famous where sometimes the price tag is meaningless to their core consumers.  To counteract this brands create a buzz and a lust after these products. This is why at Hermes you have to have been a loyal customer to have got your hands on the famous Birkin bag or you can expect a very long waiting list. Fendi understands that it is this elusiveness that turns their products into covetable status symbols.  So if you want a beautiful “Peekaboo” bag expect to be waiting at least a few months.  Overall I think this visit was a good insight into better understanding the luxury end of the market. The tour also told us a lot about the architecture and VM surrounding the store, for us the exterior windows really helped in our Barbour project, with the theme of creating a store concept around the idea of a manor house.