Skip to main content
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

The BoF Podcast: Silvia Venturini Fendi Will Surprise You

In the latest special edition of the BoF Podcast, Fendi Creative Director Silvia Venturini Fendi talks to BoF Editor-at-Large Tim Blanks about everything from the future of smart clothing to the end of the fashion show as we know it.
Sponsored By
Article Sponsor
The author has shared a Podcast.You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.

To subscribe to the BoF Podcast, please follow this link.

LONDON, United Kingdom — For Fendi Creative Director Silvia Venturini Fendi, a third-generation member of the Italian fashion house, the industry won't return to its pre-crisis normal. And that may not be a bad thing.

"There's a huge question mark on everything," she told BoF Editor-at-Large Tim Blanks on a special edition of the BoF Podcast. "It's a beautiful opportunity to change things and look at things differently and to evolve in a positive way."

The author has shared a YouTube video.You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future.

As the industry grapples with an upended global economy and shifting consumer behaviour, Fendi predicts the future of fashion lies in smart clothing, from T-shirts that measure someone's blood pressure or gloves that calculate oxygen saturation. Now more than ever, technology is going to play a pivotal role in the buying and selling of merchandise, including digital showrooms and the use of virtual reality to showcase collections.

“[At Fendi] we always embrace change with excitement and we’ve always seen it as an opportunity. From change, we’ve always felt renewed,” she said.

While stores across the globe have closed their doors to curb the spread of the virus and government-imposed lockdown measures continue, Fendi has found that “inaction and inactivity can be very stimulating.” She is embracing this period of quiet reflection to reconsider the brand’s approach to design, focussing her attention on usability and practical, long-lasting garments, as well as rewoking pieces from the archive.

Fendi suggests that, in a post-Covid-19 climate, the fashion industry at large is going to have to address its consumption problem and consider the scaling down of fashion shows. “We have learnt a very big lesson out of this situation… that we are not going to forget,” she said. “To slow down the pace of fashion is going to be something very healthy… I think we’re going to see a big difference in the future.”

Tune into this episode of the BoF Podcast, where the duo discuss why the industry must pause and reset its priorities in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Subscribe to BoF Professional for unlimited access to BoF articles, plus exclusive benefits for members. For a limited time, enjoy a 25 percent discount on the first year of an annual membership, exclusively for podcast listeners. Simply, click here, select the Annual Package and use code PODCASTPRO at the checkout.

To contact The Business of Fashion with comments, questions, or speaker ideas please e-mail podcast@businessoffashion.com.

© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Luxury
How rapid change is reshaping the tradition-soaked luxury sector in Europe and beyond.

Marine Serre: From Radical to Pragmatist

Serre, who grew sales by 20 percent in 2023, has been named Pitti Uomo’s next guest designer. She’s using the opportunity to show her men’s collection for the first time.


view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections
© 2024 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
BoF Professional - How to Turn Data Into Meaningful Customer Connections