Why Fendi held its menswear SS 2024 show in its factory: the Italian fashion brand’s Pitti Uomo runway was at its new facility outside Florence – Silvia Venturini Fendi reveals her vision

Jun 16 , 2023

Fendi’s spring/summer 2024 menswear show took place at its new leather-goods factory on the outskirts of Florence, during the Pitti Uomo men’s fair on June 15. Photos: Fendi

The Rome-based, almost-100-year-old label has held glamorous events at the Roman Colosseum, the Great Wall of China and the Trevi Fountain – but this outing took place at its leather-goods factory

The workers behind the LVMH-owned brand’s creations admired the new collection alongside celebrities from The Boyz’ Juyeon and Greg Hsu, to Alexander Skarsgård

For its spring/summer 2024 menswear show, Italian label Fendi opened the doors of its new leather-goods factory on the outskirts of Florence, where the event took place on Thursday during the Pitti Uomo men’s fair.

The Rome-based brand wanted to shine the spotlight on the workers behind its creations, the unsung heroes who turn designers’ flights of fancy into reality.

Fendi held its spring/summer 2024 menswear show inside its new factory outside of Florence to celebrate the workers that produce its creations, on June 15.

As someone who grew up surrounded by fur pelts and leather scraps in the ateliers of the company founded by her grandparents in Rome in 1925, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the family scion who is artistic director of accessories and menswear at the LVMH-owned label, is deeply aware that without artisans there would be no Fendi, as she said in a pre-show interview.

She came up with the decision to show the men’s collection at the factory, which is the first leather-goods factory in the world to receive the LEED platinum certification, to share her love for “this place that nourishes creativity, where we experiment, and where new things begin”. (LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.)

Silvia Venturini Fendi at the brand’s factory – the first leather-goods factory to receive a LEED platinum certification.

She referred to the building as “a diamond immersed in nature”, emphasising the idea of transparency that she believes clients expect from a luxury brand these days. “People want to know how things are made,” she said. “They want to know what they eat, where and how what they wear [is made] because they know that things can have an influence on your body, mind and soul. They want to know more, [especially] before buying something of value.”

Fendi’s spring/summer 2024 menswear show took place at its leather-goods factory in Italy during the Pitti Uomo men’s fair on June 15.

Surrounded by the verdant hills of the Tuscan countryside and featuring glass walls with terracotta cladding carved with the double F Fendi logo, the structure looks more like the sleek headquarters of a Silicon Valley tech company rather than your run-of-the-mill factory in the middle of nowhere.

Fendi’s spring/summer 2024 menswear collection wasn’t just shown within a factory setting – it’s inspired by factory workers’ uniforms, too.

By opening the factory to media, influencers, buyers and other guests, Silvia didn’t just want to showcase the way Fendi pieces are made and the state-of-the-art facilities where its workers spend their days. She also wanted to give the artisans the chance to see what it is like to put on a fashion show and to get a glimpse of the glamorous side of the industry that they’re rarely privy to. “Now they understand the emotion and the adrenaline of a fashion show,” she said. “It’s very important to make them part of it.”