BLISSFULLY BASED AT HER ORGANIC ESTATE OUTSIDE ROME ILARIA VENTURINI FENDI ON CHANGING LIVES WITH HER CHIC ECO-FRIENDLY FASHION AND STYLISHLY SUSTAINABLE DESIGNS
‘I’m very proud of my surname but as a little girl, I didn’t harbour any dreams of becoming a designer myself’
Fendi: the mere mention of the name conjures up images redolent of indulgence, luxury and style. A post-war powerhouse in iconic design, exquisite craftsmanship and technical innovation, the world-famous fashion brand started life as a single boutique before going global thanks to the vision and flair of five hardworking sisters.
‘Casali del Pino was key to my change of lifestyle. It was love at first sight. It seemed a little neglected, as if it were waiting for my attention’
Third-generation scion Ilaria Venturini Fendi is fiercely proud of her name, her legacy and her “sprawling tribe of aunts, uncles and cousins”, she tells us, but after working in the family business overseeing shoes and accessories, as a new mum she soon realised doing nothing in the face of climate change was the one luxury none of us could afford. So in 2003, at the height of her career, she radically changed course, bought a rundown farm in the Parco di Veio just north of Rome and set herself up as an organic sheep farmer.
“It was the greatest challenge of my life,” she tells us at Casali del Pino, her country estate set in 174 hectares of rolling Italian countryside.
‘My family was a true school of design and style, but also of life. It taught me to always strive to do my best’
