In 1997, Silvia Venturini Fendi introduced the Fendi ‘Baguette’ handbag, a miniature shoulder bag named for the way it nestles under the arm – as one might carry the French loaf after an early morning trip to the boulangerie.
25 years on, as part of the designer’s A/W 2023 menswear collection for the Italian house, Venturini Fendi playfully revisited the handbag’s inspirations, with models carrying a gleefully surreal accessory: a French baguette, albeit here rendered in luxurious shearling.
Poking out from tote bags, grasped under the arm, or slung across the back as a case for an umbrella, it epitomised the irreverent approach Venturini Fendi brings to her menswear collections. This season, she conjured an after-dark mood, the collection’s languid silhouettes and swathes of shimmering embellishment recalling rollers discos and Studio 54, with the bread-shaped accessory providing an unexpected – but satiating – juxtaposition.
Fendi reinvents the baguette
One of the bread-shaped bags, as first shown at the house’s A/W 2023 runway show in January
The ‘Baguette’ handbag itself – which includes a number of iterations for men – remains Fendi’s most well-known accessory, endlessly riffed upon in the house’s collections in various sizes, colours and shapes. Last September, it celebrated its 25th anniversary with a blockbuster show at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom as part of the city’s fashion week.
A triumphant ode to the style, the runway show featured collaborations with Tiffany & Co, Marc Jacobs and the actress Sarah Jessica Parker – the latter canonised the Baguette with her role as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City.
This article appears in the November 2023 Art Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.
-
This picky customer finds ‘perfection’ at Nipotina, Mayfair’s new pizza and pasta jointWallpaper* contributing editor Nick Vinson reviews Nipotina, a new Italian restaurant in London offering a carefully edited menu of traditional dishes
-
Giant cats, Madonna wigs, pints of Guinness: seven objects that tell the story of fashion in 2024These objects tell an unconventional story of style in 2024, a year when the ephemera that populated designers’ universes was as intriguing as the collections themselves
-
How 2024 brought beauty and fashion closer than ever before2024 was a year when beauty and fashion got closer than ever before, with runway moments, collaborations and key launches setting the scene for 2025 and beyond
-
Kim Jones to exit Fendi after four yearsFendi has announced that Kim Jones is leaving his role as artistic director of womenswear and couture at the Italian house, though will remain at Dior Men
-
The breathtaking runway sets of S/S 2025, from beanbag animals to a twisted living roomWallpaper* picks the best runway sets and show spaces of fashion month, which featured Bottega Veneta’s beanbag menagerie, opulence at Saint Laurent, and artist collaborations at Acne Studios and Burberry
-
Milan Fashion Week S/S 2025 highlights: Dolce & Gabbana to Bottega VenetaWallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss selects the best of Milan Fashion Week S/S 2025, from Dolce & Gabbana’s homage to Madonna to childlike wonder at Bottega Veneta
-
Fendi’s sci-fi collaboration with MAD Architects looks to have descended from a distant realmA version of Fendi’s ‘Peekaboo’ handbag and an ergonomic sneaker are shaped by MAD Architects’ Ma Yansong’s ‘strange, unfamiliar’ eye in the Italian house’s latest collaborative project
-
The A/W 2024 menswear collections were defined by a ‘new flamboyance’Sleek and streamlined ensembles imbued with a sense of performance take centre stage in ‘Quiet on Set’, a portfolio of the A/W 2024 menswear collections photographed by Matthieu Delbreuve
-
In fashion: the defining looks and trends of the A/W 2024 collectionsWe highlight the standout moments of the A/W 2024 season, from scrunched-up gloves and seductive leather ties to cocooning balaclavas and decadent feathers
-
Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025: what to expectNext week sees the arrival of Women’s Fashion Week S/S 2025, with stops in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, our comprehensive guide to the month, from Alaïa’s arrival in New York to Alessandro Michele’s Valentino debut
-
Milan Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025 highlights: Prada to ZegnaWallpaper* picks the best moments from Milan Fashion Week Men‘s S/S 2025, from 15 years of MSGM to Prada’s celebration of youth, and an appearance from Mads Mikkelsen at Zegna
