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Fashion Houses
Fendi
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Fendi
Via Cornelia 498, 00166 Roma
Tel: +39-6-614101
Fax: +39-6-6246838
Press Office: Carla Gabetti
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Carla Fendi's Rome
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Unfortunately, many people who visit Rome, and even those who live here, don't think to raise their eyes when walking down the streets. Some things are right in front of you and you cannot miss them, but there are so many architectural details you don't see unless you stop every now and then and look up. For example,in Rome alone there are something like 8,000 "edicole" which are like little shrines, usually to the Virgin Mary, often on the corners of buildings, on Via del Corso alone there are four.
It's the colors of Rome that I love the most - from dawn to dusk. One of the most successful fur collections we ever had featured the colors of the walls of Rome, from dusky pink to dark red brick. It included ochre, powder, and yellow. We also presented a ready-to-wear show at Piazza di Spagna, mostly outfits in chiffon in all those same colors, it was beautiful.
Something else I love about Rome are the selciati, what we call the San Pietrini, a kind of cobblestone, they are different and special, I love the reflections from them when they are wet.
Third, I adore the fountains of Rome - and there we made a film with Karl Lagerfield called Histoire d'Eau, the story of water. It was our first ready-to-wear collection, swimwear, so we had the story of an American girl who comes to Rome for a water cure. We showed a chauffeur driving her to each major fountain in Rome where she took a dip, wearing a different bathing suit each time. At the end she wrote to her mother from the Hotel Hassler saying that the cure went very well. We had a lot of fun doing it. We used rock music and Respighi.
We also have a love affair with the cinema, a really special relationship. Maybe because the salon is in a former theater and cinema. Our family must have some distant roots in the cinema. We have worked with Fellini, Visconti, Bolognini, Ken Russell, and Martin Scorsese in Age of Innocence. it was such a pleasure to work with them. Our mother thought we were crazy to spend all the money, and we said, Mama, it's such an experience, to be able to work with these directors.....
For "Portrait of a Family," for example, Visconti explained exactly how he wanted the belt of the trench coat lined with sable that Silvana Mangano wore. It was so luxurious, but so elegant. We learned so much from them. Visconti cared about every single detail.
And cinema in Rome means Cinecitta'. The biggest events we have staged have been at Cinecitta'. Not in New York. One show was on the set of Ladyhawk, nobody had ever heard of Michelle Pfeiffer. We didn't think many people would come all the way out there, Romans are very lazy, you know. We ended up having to put chairs on the runway. (We also did an exhibit based on our work at the Museum of Modern Art, and you can't imagine the problems we had to get the permits. It was supposed to last 20 days, and it was extended to two months).
I'd also like to talk a bit about Via Borgognona, and the Rome of my mother, she was very attached to this city. One evening she was very sad, we thought something terrible had happened, in Italy everybody meets and talks at the dinner table, Papa was trying to cheer her up. Mother had learned that the Cafe Aragno was being sold to Alemagna. Cafe Greco was nothing in comparison. The modern history of Italy was written there. She wanted to go to the Mayor and ask him to prevent Alemagna from changing anything in this historic place. You would have thought somebody had died, she was in such a state.
She respected the traditions. So when we wanted to move our business to the center of Rome, we chose Via Borgognona. It was unknown at the time, Prince Torlonia had his stables on the other side of the street. The first store was very small. Then we heard that the Teatro Bernini down the street was for sale, that Standa (the Italian Woolworth) was buying it. Another funeral in the house of Fendi, we couldn't bear the idea that this beautiful street, the parallel of Via Condotti, would have such a cheap store. My mother went to see the owner, and protested the sale. "Business is business," he said, adding "Why don't YOU buy it." And she did, but it cost a fortune, and I remember that to save money she took away our mineral water at mealtime, sacred for Italians! Our love for this street is also the reason why my sister Anna is still president of the Via Borgognona Association, even though our business has grown so much it's hard for her to find the time.
Franca, Alda, and I were born in the apartment over the store on Via Piave. The store had very high counters, and behind them were large drawers, so she took us to a back room when she had to nurse us and then put us to sleep in one of the drawers, where she could keep an eye on us. We loved the store, and when we played at home we always pushed the furniture together to make the counter and played store.
I often like to walk with my husband down Via Giulia, I would love to live there. On the part overlooking the river. It's my dream. My husband and I used to go often to an antique shop called Gobbi, and we would always go to eat afterwards at Pierluigi in Piazza dei Ricci, we used to eat outside, even when it rained. We furnished the whole house from Gobbi, unfortunately it doesn't exist any more.
When I have visitors there are a few favorite places I always take them to see. For example, I always take them to see the monument to Cardinal Guidi di Bagno done by Bernini at Piazza Sant'Alessio on the Aventino, it's the funniest statue you ever saw because the Cardinal is in a reclining position leaning on one elbow like Paolina Borghese.
Rome is always full of surprises, there is always something new to discover. Near Corso Trieste, for example, there's a little neighborhood called Coppede`, designed by the architect of the same name at the turn of the century, with the kind of villas you find in Seville, many of them decorated under the roofs with tiny mosaics. I also take people to see the church of Santa Maria della Pace at Arco della Pace, designed by Bramante with the Sybilla by Rafaello. And I love Piazza del Popolo now without the cars and Piazza Navona in August when it's almost empty. That's really the best time to see Rome.
RESTAURANTS:
- Nino
- Via Borgognona 11, (tel: 6795676-6786752, closed Sunday) waiters are fabulous, they remember you after 10 years, they are so professional and treat you with respect but not adulation. The food is plain but of the highest quality.
- Ranieri
- Via Mario dei Fiori 26, (tel: 6791592), very old fashioned decor, a bit like a club, we love the waiters there.
- Vertico
- Via Garibaldi 12, new restaurant featuring Jewish cooking, specialty is falafel, vegetables with sesame sauce.
- Beltrame (Da Cesarino)
- Via della Croce 39,(no telephone, you just go)Unique,simple, lone diners eat at a communal table, lots of intellectuals including set designer Piero Tosi eat there.
- Lo Scopettaro
- Lungotevere Testaccio 7, (tel: 5742480) Typical roman cooking with real-people food.
- Checchino al Mattatoio
- Via Monte Testaccio 30 (tel: 5746318-5743816, closed Sunday night and Monday)where you eat the typical Roman dish of carne in umido.
- Da Bolognese
- Piazza del Popolo 1/2 (tel: 3611426), where you always see somebody you know or who's famous.
PLACES TO HANG OUT:
- Caffe della Pace
- Via della Pace, near Piazza Navona but away from the tourists, artists, intellectuals, and gilded youth are attracted by the personality of Bartolo, the manager.
- Hotel d'Inghilterra
- Via Bocca di Leone 14, the bar is a nice place to catch your breath during a hectic shopping tour, and the new restaurant is delightful for a quick bite to eat, or tea in the afternoon. It's right in front of the shop, We took Catherine Deneuve there once and she loved it. It's also a wonderful place for lone women to stay. I would stay there if I had to choose a hotel in Rome.
SHOPPING:
I like to go for walks, but always with a purpose, and I first went to Porta Portese, the Roman flea market, with my mother at dawn. She loved going early. It's not true you don't find things there any more, I often find things for presents. I relax at the flea market, I don't go there just for a bargain. I also love to go with my friend Rafaelle Curi to the opening of Mercati Generali, the wholesale food market.
- Antique Store, Massimo Zompa
- Via di Fontanella Borghese 44, he's a wonderful interior decorator with incredible taste, he always has interesting furniture, paintings, fabrics and small objects.
- Elutieri
- Via Condotti 56, has beautiful antique jewelry, unique.
- Libreria Borghese
- Via di Fontanella Borghese 64, a book shop that's made special by the owner Maria Cristina Lodoli Ladis, who makes you feel like you're in her home. Big selection of books.
- Bancarella notturna at Piazzale Ostienze
- it's open all night, has fruits, vegetables, and sweets from Damascus.
- Baker
- Via Politema 27, this old bread store in the heart of Trastevere is open all day and all night for fresh-baked bread.
- For chocolate
Moriondo & Gariglio
- Via Pie'di Marmo 21/22, you can put a jewel or an amusing object inside a chocolate Easter egg for a special personalized present.
- Needlepoint, Lilia Leoni
- Via Belsiana 86, this English-style shop has made doing needlepoint fashionable in Rome.
- For picture frames
Silvestro Pierangeli
- is a real artisan, on Via dei Greci 13, he makes special frames for special pictures.
- China and glassware
- can be found at Leone Limentani, Via Portico D'Ottavia 63 in the Ghetto, you take a number, get a guide, who takes you through a series of basement rabbit warren-like rooms, enormous variety, brand names, many at bargain-basement prices.
- Tad
- Via San Giacomo 5, everything for the house, similar to Conran's but more lively and colorful.
- Pastry shop, American
- Via Portico D'Ottavia, all the American specialties from cheesecake to rhubarb cake.
MUSEUMS:
I love the Galleria Arte Moderna, I often went there as a girl with my mother, perhaps that is why I am devoted to it.
Biblioteca Nazionale (National Library on Via Castro Pretorio, many people don't know about it, was built as a copy of the library in Alessandria Egypt both inside and out.
HAIRDRESSER:
When I really want to relax I love to go to Sergio Valente, Via Condotti 11 (tel: 6794515-6791268), it reminds me of the Elizabeth Arden salons, the people are so well-trained, so discreet, a dirty ashtray is removed immediately, and I can literally let my hair down there.
By Carla Fendi, text gathered by Logan Bentley
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Fashion and Design from Italy has been on the web since February 1995. It was the first ever web about fashion. We're working on a new section about Italian Design - industrial design that includes furniture, ceramics, bathrooms, home and office accessories, automobiles and other articles that have won prizes throughout the world and are exhibited in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
