This week, Carla Fendi—who, along with her four sisters, transformed their family's leather goods workshop in Rome into one of the world's premiere fashion houses known for its must-have "it" bags and innovative fur coats—passed away from an undisclosed illness. She was 79.
Here, we revisit some of the personalities and moments that shaped her vibrant life.
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Fendi's Great Wall of China Show
Fendi’s runway show atop the Great Wall of China in 2007, was, claims parent group LVMH, "the first [fashion] show visible from the Moon!"
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The Fendi Sisters
Four of the five Fendi sisters—Franca, Anna, Paola, and Carla (Alda is not pictured here)—attend the Premio Belisario 2013 in Rome. While Franca, Anna, Paola, and Alda worked on the creative side of the Fendi house, Carla spearheaded its commercial and marketing strategies; and, even though the sisters sold a controlling stake of the brand to LVMH in 2001, Carla remained honorary president for the rest of her life.
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With Her Husband
Carla was married to her husband, Candido Speroni, for 55 years; he died in 2013. Here, the two celebrate the opening of a new Fendi boutique in Paris that same year.
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With Karl Lagerfeld
Lagerfeld has designed collections for Fendi since 1965. Here, Carla and Lagerfeld attend a preview of the designer's "The Glory Of Water" exhibition in Paris in 2013.
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With Fendi's Baguette Bag
Carla attends two events—the 2013 McKim Medal Gala in Rome and the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009—sporting two iterations of Fendi's iconic Baguette bag (meant to fit neatly under the arm like a loaf of French bread).
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Fendi's 90th Anniversary Show
In July 2016, Fendi celebrated its 90th anniversary with a stunning show at Rome's Trevi fountain, featuring a plexiglass catwalk. Carla, a lifelong lover of the city of Rome, also helped finance the restoration of the Trevi Fountain through her Carla Fendi Foundation (and through initiatives spearheaded by the Fendi brand).
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Carrying the Spy Bag
To accessorize her all-white outfit (at amfAR's 2006 Cinema Against AIDS Benefit in Cannes, France), Carla carries Fendi's fur Spy Bag—a luxe combination of two types of pieces for which the brand is best known.
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Wearing Fendi Fur
Carla poses with photographer Bill Cunningham at New York’s 17th Annual Night of Stars Gala (in 2000), sporting a glamorous Fendi chinchilla coat.
