Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Close Encounters of the Fendi Kind

Elemental Rome is the starting point for Fendi’s new men’s collection, reveals Silvia Fendi as she talks to Tim Blanks about her creative process and her working relationship with Kim Jones.
Silvia Venturini Fendi. Daniele La Malfa.
Silvia Venturini Fendi. Daniele La Malfa. (Daniele La Malfa)

Check the skyline of Rome. Maybe it’s an urban legend that no building is allowed to top St Peter’s Basilica — nothing higher than the House of God — but it’s a fact that the vista is significantly skyscraper-free. So the six-storey Palazzo della Civiltà stands out all the more. The huge square box, ringed with symmetrical arcades carved out of travertine marble, dominates the landscape as Benito Mussolini, who commissioned its design in the Thirties, always intended it would. But now, in the third decade of the 21st century, it’s the headquarters of Fendi, an Italian icon of a different stripe, and its architectural splendour has indirectly inspired a collection of men’s fashion.

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Luxury
How rapid change is reshaping the tradition-soaked luxury sector in Europe and beyond.

What Happened at Coperni Owner Tomorrow Ltd.?

The London-based showroom-turned-brand incubator, which also owns Martine Rose, is being sold to Italy’s Andrea Ciccoli. Founder Stefano Martinetto breaks down the move for BoF in this week’s High Margin luxury newsletter.


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

The Industry That Eats Its Young

Small fashion labels have always been shortchanged by their wholesale partners. A wave of high-profile bankruptcies has turned a structural injustice into an existential crisis. There is a better way to do business, writes Imran Amed.


The Zara-Fication of John Galliano

Fashion’s enfant terrible is trading exclusivity for the mass market. Is it the ultimate fashion coup, or the final surrender of prestige?


The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON