Fendi celebrates newly revived Baguette Bag for NYFW

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 8, 2019

Italian fashion house Fendi took this season's New York Fashion Week as an opportunity to host a glamorous cocktail party, celebrating the revival of its iconic Baguette bag.

Hosted at the spacious Fendi boutique on Madison Avenue, the party promoted the revamped bag's ad campaign, #BaguetteFriendsForever, with plenty social media fodder in the form of mirrored displays, hashtag-printed decorative walls and stacks of commemorative hardcover Fendi Baguette books. Baguettes both new and old abounded, decorating the space from floor to ceiling thanks to the store's display walls and a hanging canopy of the designer handbags. Famous fans of the brand were sure make their appearances, including Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Emma Roberts and Amanda Seyfried.

Born in 1997 under the brand's then-and-current creative director of accessories, Silvia Venturini Fendi, the petite bag was named in honor of the style of carrying both the French bread and the bag. Though the model was popular from the jump, the Baguette bag rocketed to success after "Sex and the City" stylist Patricia Field cast the accessory in the supporting role of lead character Carrie Bradshaw's bag of choice.

According to the Financial Times, Fendi's original baguette has sold over a million units, on top of thousands of style variations that have made their debut since the bag's launch. Now in 2019, the bag is back with a brand new attitude.

While keeping to the original model's iconic shape, the new baguette now comes in a variety of sizes (now able to fit more than just a phone), with the added choice of shoulder strap and cross-body strap models. The core relaunch design is the leather version of the handbag embossed with the label's signature double-F logo, in shades including pink, grape purple, aqua blue, white and black. However, the new 2019 bags also come in a variety of eccentric and eye-popping exteriors, including a white bag decorated with spice-toned flowers, a denim bag with red embroidery, a ruffled light denim model and a duo-tone brown bag decorated with embroidered tropical birds, among others.

From its mini to large sizes, the updated bags range in price from about $2,100 to $3,190.

Select models are available both in-store and online, taking advantage of the growing popularity of online luxury shopping, particularly among millennial women. Fendi, which appeared on the top-10 list of most-searched luxury brands in Europe at the beginning of this year, is not the only fashion house to re-release an iconic accessory as of late, with Dior’s signature saddle bag making a return last year.

In order to further promote the baguette's revival, Fendi has also launched the #BaguetteFriendsForever ad campaign with a mini-film starring German influencer Caroline Daur as well as Natasha Lau, Ebonee Davis and Melissa Martinez. In a nod to the bag's legacy and nostalgic place within the Italian fashion house, the ad positions Daur and friends as a modern Sex in the City squad, who take a trip to the Madison Avenue Fendi store in order to buy an unforgettable Baguette bag. However, upon entering the boutique, the women discover that someone has already bought the coveted bag...and that someone is Sarah Jessica Parker (or, perhaps, Miss Bradshaw).