Archinect - News

MAD's Ma Yansong teams with FENDI for new ergonomic fashion collection

2024-09-20T14:50:00-04:00

Promising what it called a "radical design gesture at the intersection of fashion and architecture," MAD Architects has unveiled their fashion collaboration with Fendi. The collection designed by founder Ma Yansong for the Italian luxury retailer was first seen during the brand’s runway presentation for Men’s Fashion Week in Milan this January.

Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi

A play on the duality of materials and form provides the reference for the new Peekaboo ISeeU bag and FENDI MAD sneakers, which come in dove gray-safety yellow or black-on-black colorways.

Image credit: Courtesy of Fendi

The bags, deconstructed with varnished aluminum wave inserts that break up the smoothed leather surface of their facades, are hewn in Cuoio Romano grain leather. The slip-on shoes, also available in an off-white/silver colorway, are made from mesh with injection-molded soles and similar metallic details. This is the architect’s first foray into the lucrative ready-to-wear market following a prev...

When in Rome

2018-07-10T22:46:00-04:00

"Along with their monumental role in Rome's urban fabric, the architectural status of fountains has long been uncertain. It can be hard to determine when they ceased to be viewed as public water utilities, and came to be regarded as purely artistic objects."

In the same week in 2016, a group of tourists were denounced as trespassers for splashing around in one of Rome's historic fountains, while Fendi was praised for its tribute to Italy's artistic legacy by staging a fashion show across another. Anatole Tchikine is prompted by these contrasting reactions to examine the complicated relationship between architecture, water, and the body in the city — from early modern laundresses to La Dolce Vita.

Second life for fascist architecture: Will Mussolini's Square Colosseum become a Palazzo for Fendi?

2015-02-17T14:14:00-05:00

A cash shortage in Rome could see the city’s fascist-era Square Colosseum sold to the fashion house Fendi, despite calls in the Italian capital to keep the building in state hands. More than 70 years after the Palazzo della Civiltà del Lavoro was built under the orders of Benito Mussolini it could soon be reinvented as a home for luxury goods.

Fendi Launches First Luxury Residential Project

2014-07-29T15:23:00-04:00

The trend of Italian fashion firms co-developing luxury condominiums continues, with Fendi on July 28 becoming the latest brand to announce its first foray into a branded real estate project — partnering with the Château Group to develop Fendi Château Residences, a new and exclusive 12-story waterfront condominium building located in Miami, Florida two blocks south of The Bal Harbour Shops.

Fendi To Rescue Crumbling Trevi Fountain

2013-02-07T11:47:00-05:00

Luxury fashion will meet Roman architecture as Italian fashion house Fendi has pledged €2.1 million to restore five of Rome’s beloved fountains, including the iconic Trevi Fountain. Fendi, founded in Rome in the 1920s, is now part of French luxury giant LVMH. The fashion house opted to invest in restoring one of Rome’s architectural treasures due to a self-described “deep bond with the Eternal City.”