For Fendi’s first Italian exhibition, three contemporary makers were invited to work with a Fendi craftsperson to transform discarded leather from the Fendi production process into a live artwork. The makers included London-based designer Rowan Mersh, Italian artist Nicola Guerraz and Italian sculptor Sandro del Pistoia.

      

 

 

  • The resulting projects show how brands can use storytelling to capture a sense of heritage but also move into the future by developing new applications. A sense of concern about efficient and sustainable manufacture was also discernable in the artists’ innovative approaches to reusing disgarded materials from the Fendi production process
  • Rowan Mersh used an unusual method to create form and surface – real-time heart rate data was collected and fed into an adapted riveting machine that created corresponding holes in thin strips of leather. The leather strips were then attached to a steel frame, and their varying colour and size created an eye-catching window display
   
In Sandro del Pistoia’s work, a series of leather and wood components can be assembled to create any number of different shapes and objects. The project suggests that despite Fendi’s traditional foundations, the company is capable of growing in any number of new directions
from WGSN.