WHEN IN ROME: Fendi on Thursday revealed the location of the first couture show designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri — the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome on the evening of July 9.
For the occasion, guests will be invited to a private view of the exhibition “After un Percorso di Lavoro. Fendi/Karl Lagerfeld 1985. After Steps Through Work.” Although clearly dedicated to the late longtime and legendary couturier of the brand, details about the exhibit are still under wraps. It will be open to the public from July 10 to Oct. 25.
The GNAM museum is housed in a former Barefoot Carmelite monastery dating from the 17th century. It contains more than 3,000 sculptures, paintings and graphic works of the late 19th century and the early 20th century, by artists ranging from Giacomo Balla and Giorgio de Chirico to Renato Guttuso, to name a few.
Chiuri was appointed to the Fendi helm as chief creative officer last October, joining from Dior, and made her runway debut at Milan Fashion Week last February.
This is not the first time Fendi has staged its couture collections outside of Paris, and the event will mark the third couture show to be held in Rome, where the luxury brand is based. The Italian luxury house previously unveiled couture in the Italian capital in 2016 and 2019.
In the former occasion, the Haute Fourrure show — the name given to the brand’s couture collections back then — was designed by the late Karl Lagerfeld for fall 2016. It was paraded at the Trevi Fountain, a first for the Baroque monument, whose restoration Fendi supported — the catwalk placed directly on the water. The event marked the 90th anniversary of Fendi, flanked by an exhibition at the company’s headquarters at the stately Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana.
In 2019 the show, designed by then solo designer Silvia Venturini Fendi — ahead of the arrival of Kim Jones in 2020 — was staged at the Temple of Venus. Fendi pledged a 2.5-million-euro donation for the restoration of that site.
Chiuri herself had picked Rome — her hometown — as the stage for her swan-song collection at Dior in May last year. A mix of cruise 2026 and haute couture looks were shown against the spectacular backdrop of the Villa Albani Torlonia. Ahead of her last Dior show, Chiuri also unveiled her personal investment in Rome’s Teatro della Cometa, which she has been restoring for the past five years.
