Sarah Jessica Parker channels Carrie Bradshaw in the Fendi Campaign
Walking down a busy street of Manhattan, she turns her head around her shoulder and says “It’s not a bag, it’s a Baguette”, seeing the envy in the eyes of other women with a smirk on her lips. Sarah Jessica Parker, starring in the infamous commercial announcing the rebirth of the Fendi Baguette two years ago. Originally created in 1997 by Silvia Venturini Fendi, who was back then the Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear. As the name suggests, you wear the bag just like baguette bread, right under your upper arm whilst you are rushing from one place to another.
To bring the second life of the bag to the next level, Fendi announced a new state-of-the-art exhibition “hand in hand”, celebrating the craftsmanship behind the bag. Taking place in the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in the Italian capital Rome, the brand is showcasing the iconic bag transformed into new versions by a diverse group of ateliers and workshops to interpret their vision of the Baguette.
Inside the 'Hand in Hand' Exhibition. Image courtesy of Fendi.
Image courtesy of Fendi
The “Hand in Hand” initiative asks the artists to create their own version, a work of art of the Baguette. Valuing the local, the name symbolises the appreciation of hand-crafted things. Beyond that, the initiative establishes a strong network of human relationships by preserving the rare craft, creativity and savoir-faire of these local artisans across Italy.
The results of this collaboration are diverse and magnificent at the same time. The Baguettes are featuring extravagant precious metals and stones, intimate structures of fabric resembling the art of mosaic, woven cotton embroidered with visual folklore or the timeless beauty of perfectly moulded leather.
Inside the 'Hand in Hand' Exhibition. Image courtesy of Fendi
At the ground floor of the exhibition space, Fendi showcases the first twenty “Hand in Hand” Baguette creations, each of them being made by hand in a different Italian province from Abruzzo to Veneto by the most exceptional local artisans. Framing the process, his project merges a historical as well as cultural narrative in the scenography of the monumental installation, via a digital and physical visitor experience.
Working with the emotions of light, floor-to-ceiling LED screens reflect off the venue’s marble floors, projecting timeless visions of extraordinary patience and skill as the artisans sketch designs, prepare materials, apply old age techniques and reveal the intergenerational secrets of their ancestral art.
Inside the 'Hand in Hand' Exhibition. Image courtesy of Fendi
To bring the magical creation process to the customer, video documentaries capture rare crafts like weaving, embroidery, silversmithing, leather marquetry, lacework, tapestry and mosaic during a visual journey through Italy. Exposed in a 30-meter long installation of polished black multimedia craftsmanship tables, the exhibition sets the stage for an immersive atelier simulation where each precious Baguette bag is displayed next to the tools that were required to make it.
The unique exhibition of the iconic handbag is an experience for everyone, not just Manhattan’s Carrie Bradshaws. To find out more, visit fendi.com.