Anatomy of a Classic: The Fendi Peekaboo

Success, the conventional wisdom goes, has many fathers. But no man can take credit for the “It” bag, fashion’s most lucrative invention of the last 25 years. That title belongs solely to Silvia Venturini Fendi, the artistic director of accessories, menswear, and kids at her family’s century-old luxury empire, who changed the industry with the introduction of the Baguette in 1997 and, later, the Peekaboo in 2008. It’s this second hit, recognizable for its minimal trapezoidal shape, that turns a blushing 15 this year, and Venturini Fendi is marking the milestone with a woven look that shows off the artisanal prowess synonymous with the Roman house.

Over the years this status symbol prized by Becky Sharps of all stripes, from Serena van der Woodsen to Meghan Markle, has taken many forms. Last spring film director Luca Guadagnino gave the Peekaboo a close-up worthy of Timothée Chalamet in a campaign film; later, at the Design Miami fair, the Austrian artist Lukas Gschwandtner turned it into an objet that recalled a relic from antiquity.

A power purse for the caesars? It’s easy to imagine. Here’s another plausible scenario: For its 25th anniversary in 2022, the Baguette inspired a big fashion show featuring a capsule collection designed by Marc Jacobs and a parade of supermodels. Perhaps in a decade the Peekaboo will have its own moment in the spotlight, carried into the future by the next generation’s Linda Evangelista.

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