Fendi turns the catwalk into a stage for its arthouse persona

The fashion house’s grand strategy to align itself with the great names of Italian art and culture was played out in Milan

The catwalk is one of many platforms in Fendi’s grand strategy to align itself with the great names of Italian art and culture. Under this ambitious brand positioning – or “communion of intent”, in its CEO Pietro Beccari’s more elegant phrasing – Fendi has become a generous patron of the city of Rome, where it is based. The house paid the £2m bill for the recent restoration of the Trevi fountain, and staged a fashion show upon its reopening.