Fendi has expanded and upgraded its ready-to-wear boutique in luxury department store Harrods in London’s Knightsbridge. The permanent space is part of the Women’s Superbrands selection on the first floor of the famous store.

The new version increases the label’s original footprint on the floor by 50 sq m, for a total of 175 sq m and the company said it’s “an expression of Fendi’s timeless DNA: one of both modernity and tradition, whereby past informs future and craftsmanship is celebrated”.

So what do we find in the new space? Its divided between three rooms and features a comprehensive curation of women’s ready-to-wear and accessories, including the all-important handbags. The company also said its “architectural essence is drawn from Fendi’s native Rome, with references to the city’s topography emerging in Palladiana flooring in Travertino Ascoli and Giallo Valencia marble, Calce Romana walls and columnar details; the latter reimagining the city’s ancient architecture in contemporary style”. 

The main room contains the design’s centrepiece: a monumental artwork by French sculptor and ceramicist Olivia Cognet, comprising a totemic column in her signature bas ceramics. We’re told it translates the tenets of mid-century modernism in contemporary style. 

A second room is intended to be more intimate and has a lush, carpeted floor and natural-toned walls, while the displays of ready to wear “evoke the anastylosis concept, where decorative elements comprise columnar displays in handmade glass, ribbed Travertine and Rosso Lepanto marble”. 

A final VIP Salon can be accessed via a disguised passageway from the boutique’s exterior, ensuring privacy. It features undulating walls designed to simulate the movement of leather. When not in use as a VIP space, the room can be opened to display further clothing and accessories from the collections.

And the exterior features a distinctive ribbed facade and an additional two window displays that “capture the renovated boutique’s sense of scale”.