Five star

Constanza Vallese's lily-studded salon for Fendi at Design Miami celebrates legacy, creativity and craftsmanship

- ROSA BERTOLI

Over the past dozen years, Italian fashion house Fendi has enriched its canon with experiments from some of the world's most exciting creatives.

Invited to play with the maison's codes, each participant, ranging from Peter Mabeo to Sabine Marcelis, has created an annual display at Design Miami, combining furnishings with Fendi icons to offer a fresh view on the brand's history.

This year's collaboration also marks an opportunity to celebrate the fashion house's centenary, and, most importantly, the people at the heart of Fendi. 'I was thinking of the Fendi sisters as a collective energy of creative women who embodied elegance and also strength,' says Constanza Vallese, the Milan-based Argentinian designer tasked with this year's display for Design Miami. Her Fonderia Fendi installation will showcase objects created with five different Italian specialists, in a celebration of Fendi and a demonstration of the power of craft.

When she was invited by curator Dan Thawley to participate, Vallese had already been observing Fendi for a while, admiring 'its ability to blend timeless tradition with something bold'. But it wasn't until she visited its Rome HQ and workshops that she truly understood the craftsmanship and innovation behind every piece. 'I think Fendi transcends fashion, creating a broader artistic language that made the project feel natural and aligned with my own practice,' she says.