How did Fendi's "Peekaboo" become the fashionista's it-bag?

How to make an it bag timeless? As the "Peekaboo" celebrates its 10th anniversary in the arms of women, Silvia Fendi, designer of the house's accessories, reveals her secrets to us.

That birthday, the whole family wanted to celebrate. It must be said that he is loved in the clan. We are talking here about the Fendi family and the "Peekaboo", the notorious bag of this house, considered a child king. Today, he is 10 years old and, since 2008, his success has not been undeserved. Whoever had a passion for bags a decade ago remembers very well the excitement aroused by the arrival of this new model. Very chic, crowned with a look of nobility, with removable and intelligent openings which, depending on the mood, reveal other aspects of its physiognomy: this bag, everyone wanted it, and its high price did not even scare . He entered the rare cenacle of exceptional gifts: for the 18th birthday of a young girl, for the celebration of a love, for a wedding, for the 50th birthday of a woman. Very quickly, of course, we saw him on the arm of many celebrities. The first fans were Rania of Jordan, Madonna, Sharon Stone, Sofia Coppola, Julia Roberts... Today, they are Amal Clooney, Meghan Markle, Naomi Watts, Lupita Nyong'o or Rihanna... What surprises, c is the diversity of people it appeals to: classic, exuberant, trendy, anonymous or stars, it seems that everyone wants it. Then, it's the unanimous plebiscite: millennials, young women or young grandmothers, we like it from 17 to 77 years old. Silvia Fendi, its happy creator, explains this success by the surprising theory of opposition. It came at the right time after the incredible triumph of the “Baguette” bag, a true textbook case of leather goods, known throughout the world, created in 1997 and sold over a million copies. With him had appeared the term "it bag", which had been affiliated with him from the outset, multiplying endlessly in countless versions, including, at the time, Carrie Bradshaw in "Sex and the City" in was the best of the demonstrators. She explains: “You can consider the 'Baguette' almost like a garment, supple, in fabric, embroidered, sequined, always decorated. He represented a moment. I wanted to thwart it with a more statutory, refined bag, in a trunk maker's tradition. He had another hit, because no doubt he already looked familiar. In fact, he was already old when he came out, as if he had always been there. What Silvia Fendi could also say is the way she invents a gesture, which greatly contributes to the desire for the object. This is revealed in the chosen name.

Thus, the "Baguette", because, very small with its shoulder strap, it stuck under the arm and left the hands free - new posture. With the “Peekaboo”, she invents the principle of a bag that is open on one side, closed on the other, creating a somewhat casual elegance. Hence his surname "Peekaboo", which means cuckoo, this game where you hide your eyes with your hands and where you reappear by opening them. Beyond the model, there is the attitude. The designer simply says with a laugh: “We don't follow trends, we create them. Silvia Fendi and two of her daughters, Delfina and Leonetta, staged themselves to tell the story of this permanence of things, playing on transgenerational dialogue and transmission. They all want to be ambassadors for this bag, which they have declined according to their personality. Leonetta, 21, a cosmopolitan girl, studying political science in London, loves the mini and colorful “Peekaboo”. Delfina, pretty in her thirties, whom we already know for her jewelry creations, wears the brand new model, the "X-Lite", without reinforcement, very soft, like a large bag stuffed inside: "It is light, without skeleton, it is modern. It is practical. I really like it because it pretends to be classic. Finally, Silvia, and her very classic black always.

After this demonstration of luxury, there is a whole Italian saga that unfolds through these three women. Silvia recounts this particular filiation: “Through the history of Fendi, we can read the evolution of women in Italy. In this country with a very patriarchal tradition, there was my grandmother, who was a pioneer. When my grandfather died, she didn't close the business. She worked while raising her five daughters. Better, she involved them in the evolution of this house. This communion of women has achieved something incredible. Fendi today has an international influence. It's a deliberately creative, viscerally feminine family. And Fendi wouldn't be Fendi if it weren't for the conviction of the clan. “We really are the prototype of an Italian family,” continues Delfina. We spend a lot of time together. We always find a way to get together. We talk about creation. The house is always open and our mother often calls us to find out when we plan to visit her. Leonetta laughs: “She also calls us all the time because she has problems with technology. Silvia smiles: “Yes, it's the difference between the generations. I tell them: 'Come to lunch on Sunday' because I have a problem with my computer. But I also solve a lot for you! Let's be honest, my cell phone rings every five minutes! No doubt their conversation is still going on now...

In a few years, in 2025, the house will be 100 years old. Leonetta: “My God, 100 years! It would seem that Fendi is crowned with a certain character of eternity. Here everything lasts, everything endures, and this durability has determined its anchoring in the softness of a Roman palazzo. Fendi dominates time on all levels. Here too, it is a question of being the master of the clocks. It's the story of a family where fashion has been passed down from generation to generation and, more admirable in a sense, from woman to woman, since the beginning, in 1925. Exceptional craftsmanship, between leather and fur , which continues to perfect its know-how. The unique loyalty of a designer, Karl Lagerfeld, who has been designing women's fashion since 1965. At Fendi, time is nothing.

THE "PEEKABOO" FRIEND

Amazing how this bag adapts to the most different personalities: queens and princesses like Rania of Jordan or Meghan Markle, icons of music such Rihanna, movie stars like Angelina Jolie, or catwalk goddesses like Kaia Gerber... He imposes himself on the arms of all the beauties like a faithful companion, sometimes wise, sometimes funny.