Silvia Venturini Fendi Steps Down As Creative Director. Who Should Take Over?

Fendi was set for its centennial year with the S/S25 collection, declaring that one hundred years is a celebration that only expands forward. They held true to that promise: archival icons resurfaced — the Spy Bag reappeared, the Baguette stretched into limited editions, and the Mamma Baguette grew in size. New creations joined the fold, from the sculptural Giano Bag to Delfina Delettrez Fendi’s Eaux d’Artifice High Jewelry collection, where a 20.25-carat yellow diamond sat among 100 more in tribute to each year. Even the maison’s codes of craft — Selleria hand-stitching, plissé, intarsia, and leather worked like stone — became celebrations in themselves.

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But milestones also bring turning points. Silvia Venturini Fendi, third-generation torchbearer and the mind behind Fendi’s accessories, menswear, and, more recently, womenswear, announced she will step down as creative director. Since 1994, she has shaped the house with both pragmatism and poetry, forwarding its Roman spirit while cementing legends like the Baguette in everyone’s collective memory.

Her departure, however, is not a farewell. As part of the Fendi family, she transitions into the role of Honorary President, focusing on safeguarding Fendi’s heritage while promoting its history, craftsmanship, and even its offshoots such as Fendi Casa. It seems to be much like Donatella Versace’s role when she stepped down as creative director herself at her own family brand. A funny coincidence when you also think about how they’ve done their 2022 collaboration “Fendi x Versace” together. 

In a statement, Sylvia said: “What a wonderful journey it has been, not only creatively but also from a human perspective: first through my bond with Karl Lagerfeld, then with Kim Jones, and last but not least with my fantastic team, which over the years has become part of my family.”

With her departure, who should carry Fendi’s creative direction? Musical chairs—hopefully on pause again soon—may add a few new players, and a handful of marquee names are currently unattached to a fashion house.

Kim Jones for Continuity

Already embedded at Fendi as the former Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear, Jones feels like the natural frontrunner. His knack for mining history—be it Virginia Woolf or the Art Deco era—and rooting it in contemporary culture has kept Fendi intellectually engaging. Extending his reach across all lines could bring cohesion, though some might see it as opening a petty rivalry with Jonathan Anderson, who’s holding Dior together across divisions, while Jones’s Dior years only grazed menswear.

John Galliano for Audacity

A long shot, but recently untethered from Maison Margiela, Galliano remains a genius of theatrical fashion. His artistry and emotional storytelling could electrify Fendi with operatic greatness that can only receive a 15-minute standing ovation. But the Roman maison’s pragmatic luxury might resist his penchant for the extravagance. Still, his couture sensibility, paired with Fendi’s Roman craftsmanship, could make for fireworks.

Maria Grazia Chiuri for Feminism

Chiuri’s arrival at Fendi would feel almost like a homecoming to Italian roots. Known for her feminist lens and clarity of purpose, she could translate Fendi’s matriarchal heritage into a new era of women-centric design. Her knack for connecting fashion with cultural discourse may align with Fendi’s identity as a house of women who “do”,

Sabato De Sarno for Sleek Modernism

While talk of his next move is basically nonexistent, the former Gucci creative director, who held the Ancoro to a high standard, might not yet fit the Fendi mold. His sleek, pared-back sensuality could inject modernity into Fendi’s codes, though the maison’s DNA leans toward richness and craft over subtlety. Whether he would return to a house so soon after Gucci remains uncertain.

Ultimately, the decision will reveal what Fendi values most at this crossroads: continuity, audacity, feminism, or sleek modernism. Silvia Venturini Fendi may be stepping down, but the Roman house she helped build for decades is not at a loss, but at the cusp of reinvention.

Photos: FENDI, DIOR, JOHN GALLIANO, and GUCCI