FENDI PEEKABOO BAG

HISTORY

The FENDI woman contains multitudes. So does her Peekaboo.

Since 2008, the Peekaboo bag has become a hallmark expression of Roman craftsmanship fused with an intimate sense of FENDI womanhood. Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi and premiered at the FENDI Women’s Spring/Summer 2009 show, the Peekaboo was a reaction - a design born of the will to redefine modern accessories in the waning years of ‘it-bag’ ubiquity.

Clean and minimal, geometric and curvilinear all at once, the Peekaboo is a bag engineered with both beauty and playful functionality at its core. Its original trapezium-shaped form took the spirit of a mid-century frame bag and transformed it into an architectural feat of contemporary leather artistry in the FENDI ateliers.

Marrying supple and rigid forms, gravity and structure, the Peekaboo is a shapeshifter. Centred around a double turnlock upper frame, the gusseted pocket construction and weighted keyhole hardware causes a suspended drape when open, creating the bag’s signature curved ‘smile’ that reveals its luxurious inner craftsmanship.

“There was an invasion of bags on the catwalk everywhere at the time, so I really wanted to create a bag that only a real leather goods maker like FENDI could possibly make,” says Silvia Venturini Fendi. “It was the moment to set things straight with a new classic. I wanted to evoke the beauty of a vintage bag with a lock, but for the first time make it about the movement of the bag. At FENDI, lightness has always been so important. When you think of a FENDI coat, sometimes the inside is even more accurate and precise than the outside. Things are reversible. You can see it is FENDI because of the way it moves - because it is light, and it follows the body. With the Peekaboo, I really wanted to produce that idea in a bag. That's why I selected a very soft leather, as the bag was shown open and inside you could reveal a different colour of a very beautiful glove leather. It is a bag to be experienced: when you put your hands inside a Peekaboo, you can feel some of the softest leather in the world.”

Peekaboo on Parade

The Peekaboo first appeared on the Women’s Spring/Summer 2009 catwalk, complementing the ready-towear collection designed by Karl Lagerfeld. Top-handle styles were crafted in neutral tones from raw cotton toile, exotic leathers and black patent leather to perforated suede that revealed mottled watersnake inside.

A conduit for innovation and interpretation, the Peekaboo hit its stride immediately, and from that moment onwards Silvia Venturini Fendi evolved its design season after season, rolling out new styles that played with scale and wearability as well as materiality and craft. Shortly after, the Peekaboo was adapted with a shoulder strap, wood or lucite handles, Selleria stitched seams and other seasonal details. The artistic potential of its multi-dimensional facade — a bag designed to be as equally beautiful inside as outside — gave birth to myriad variations of surface and size, with particular attention to its inner walls that, with a twist of its signature turnlock, are revealed to the outside world. Today, the Peekaboo retains a constant presence on the runway for the FENDI Women’s Ready-To-Wear collections designed by Kim Jones and FENDI Men’s collections designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi — scaled up and down, worn in the hand, on the shoulder, or across the body. Itsstructural evolution has seen multiple new developments, from the graphically streamlined Peekaboo ISeeU design that debuted on the Fall/Winter 2020 catwalk with its accordion shape and sharp diagonal sides, to the Peekaboo X-Lite: a single-pocket model that repositions the turnlock on the bag’s back panel for a roomy, lightweight design that retains the Peekaboo’s all-important reveal and conceal.

The Playful Spirit and Personification of the Peekaboo

With its playful name inspired by the children’s game, “peek-a-boo, I see you”, the Peekaboo is a study of opposites, where sleek minimalism meets the contrast of precious textures and colours, and the intimacy of a woman’s bag is questioned in a constant call-and-repeat of inside and out.

Hinting at FENDI’s sense of humour and irony – the Peekaboo surprises with its precious details and the possibilities of hidden beauty that can be activated at the twist of its turnlock, opening the ‘smile’ that instantly personifies the Peekaboo as a mouth, a smile, and even a face. This ‘trompe l’oeil’ effect of subtly human features has inspired artists, famous friends and Silvia Venturini Fendi alike in their interpretation of special Peekaboo creations, like actress Gwyneth Paltrow, singer and actress Joey Yung, architect Zaha Hadid, models Liu Wen and Hikari Mori, to none other than the singer Adele.

As a design object, the sculptural nature of the Peekaboo speaks not only to the tradition of fine leather goods craft, but also to the avant-garde movements in Italian art and design in the 20th century that have evolved alongside FENDI - from Futurism to Memphis and Neoclassical architecture. With its combination of rigorous construction, the supple drape of the pocket panels, boldly mechanical and geometric hardware, the Peekaboo transcends the status of a fashion accessory, taking its place alongside other practical objets d’art as a collectible heirloom - both instantly recognisable and readily customisable for future generations.

The Peekaboo Character

“The Peekaboo wearer is a multifaceted person,” says Silvia Venturini Fendi. “They have hidden talents, they choose what they reveal about themselves, and when.”

The singular idea of a ‘type’ of person for a FENDI bag is outdated, and the Peekaboo’s longevity across fashion through the end of the 2000s, through the 2010s and into the 2020s is a testament to its dynamic appeal across the globe for people of different ages, personalities, stylistic inclinations and walks of life. That said, there is an innate sense of classicism - with a twist - that is embedded into each and every Peekaboo style. In short, its intrinsic functionality can become a metaphor for the wearer’s emotions and moods.

“One’s bag is full of secrets, and so the idea of the Peekaboo is a bag that can be worn open,” continues Silvia Venturini Fendi. “I think that carrying a Peekaboo says something about a very strong, powerful and empowered person who is not afraid to hide. It has its two compartments - one you can keep close to you and closed, and the other you can choose to reveal something of yourself to the world.”

Precious and alluring, just like those who carry it, the Peekaboo embodies an image of FENDI’s timeless yet innovative spirit. The ‘unlocked bag’ has as many different personalities as the wearer who chooses it, showcasing the extraordinary versatility and eternal appeal of this iconic piece.

Peekaboo Personalities

Iconic characters the world over have chosen to carry the Peekaboo, traversing the spheres of art and fashion, industrial design, architecture and cinema, as well as both royal and diplomatic circles. Closed with its turnlock, the Peekaboo’s smooth, clean lines and unconventional classicism have lent its aesthetics to the elegant ambience of formal occasions, on the arm of strong characters from Meghan Markle on the streets of London to human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan on official engagements around the world.

Worn open and with great panache, actors and singers too have embraced its myriad charms, opting for colourful styles and finishes both off-duty and on the red carpet. The Peekaboo counts Angelina Jolie, Adele Exarchopoulos, Danna Paola, Rihanna, Hailey Bieber, Ryoko Yonekura, Jennifer Lopez, Rita Ora, Reese Witherspoon, Lareina Song, Hye Kyo Song and Tang Yixin amongst its loyal fans. Since the introduction of the Peekaboo men’s styles in the Fall / Winter 2014-15 Collection, a youthful crop of athletes, actors and musicians alike have chosen the Peekaboo’s bold masculine shapes and rich colourways, including Gossip Girlstar and pro skater Evan Mock, Netflix’s Elite star Manu Rios, 13 Reason’s Why star Brandon Flynn, Lucifer star Tom Ellis, and French football champion Karim Benzema.

Closer to home, the Peekaboo has become a matriarchal symbol of family for Silvia Venturini Fendi, uniting her and her daughters Delfina Delettrez Fendi and Leonetta Luciano Fendi through its heirloom quality as a perennial favourite. As seen in the #MeandMyPeekaboo campaign, for the Fendi women, the Peekaboo is a bag to be shared and passed down from generation to generation, enjoyed and swapped between them in a game of moods and personality traits to match their favourite bags.

The #MeandMyPeekaboo visual campaign debuted in 2018 on the occasion of the bag’s 10th anniversary and has continued to celebrate the irreplaceable bond between mothers and sisters, sons and daughters from across the globe. From social media stars to Hollywood cinema royalty, this series of intimate portfolios and video interviews began with the Fendi family and delves into the relationships of the likes of Catherine ZetaJones and Carys Zeta-Douglas, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner, Ami & Aya Suzuki, Sylvia Chang and Oscar Wang, and Chiara Ferragni with her sisters Valentina and Francesca Ferragni and her husband Fedez.

In love with her Peekaboo

The architectural lines and tender femininity of the Peekaboo has, over the years, been personified by a coterie of bold faces – mothers, daughters and friends of the House who have each incarnated this FENDI icon in global campaigns to celebrate its proud singularity. Propagating the veritable ‘object mythology’ of this heirloom creation, these campaigns fortify the intimate relationship between a woman and her FENDI Peekaboo.

In 2022, the renowned Italian director Luca Guadagnino immortalised the British model and activist Adwoa Aboah in a whimsical, majestic short film in which she glides weightlessly over the rooftops and piazzas of the eternal city of Rome. Like a modern-day heroine, Aboah and her Peekaboo bag arrived on the steps of the FENDI headquarters at the Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, the profound strength of women and the Peekaboo’s secrets combined to magical effect.

As a long-time friend of Artistic Director of Couture and Womenswear Kim Jones and Artistic Director of Accessories and Menswear Silvia Venturini Fendi, the supermodel, actress, and philanthropist Naomi Campbell reprises the role of Peekaboo face for Spring/Summer 2023, in a cinematic visual campaign of colour and black-and-white imagery lensed by the British photographer David Sims. A legendary representation of bold feminine energy, Naomi’s unique persona perfectly symbolises the independence, ambition and strength of character that the Peekaboo represents for women across the world.

For the 2024 Peekaboo Campaign, breaking globally in April, the emotional connection and strong family tie embodied by the Peekaboo bag is perfectly personified by Kate and Lila Grace Moss, whose powerful motherdaughter bond is intimately portrayed by the lenses of photographer Craig McDean. Close friends of Kim Jones and of the Maison, the campaign is a further demonstration of their heart-warming relationship, following their first mother-daughter runway appearance for the Artistic Director’s debut Couture collection for FENDI, that featured families both real and chosen in an intergenerational reunion of iconic women reflecting the matriarchal strength that has long defined the FENDI name. The visuals showcase the Peekaboo in the most iconic and familiar FENDI material and workmanship: the Selleria. Passed on to Silvia Venturini Fendi from her grandmother and founder of the House Adele Fendi, with its soft and sensual Cuoio Romano naturally grained leather, signature hand-made macro-stitching and sterling silver plaque, the Selleria further enhances the deep family spirit and transmission of values from generation to generation – the connection of the past to the present and the future – so intrinsic to the Peekaboo bag and to its timeless elegance.