Fendi's Baguette returns
- Fendi reissued its Baguette bag during Milan Design Week, tying a 1997 icon to current product storytelling. (elle.com) - The 'Baguette 26424 Re‑Edition' ships in 20 styles, with six styles available in Milan shows. (elle.com) - The push shows how design week is now used to extend runway narratives into collectible objects and interiors. (elle.com)
Fendi used Milan Design Week to bring back the Baguette, reissuing the bag as the “Baguette 26424 Re-Edition” nearly 30 years after the original 1997 launch. (fendi.com) The house said Maria Grazia Chiuri presented 20 re-editions from the Fall/Winter 2026-27 collection during Milano Design Week 2026. Fendi’s Milan activation opened at Palazzo Fendi Milano on April 17, with a cocktail on April 19. (fendi.com) (theimpression.com) The reissue takes its name from the bag’s original style code, 26424, and Fendi said six Milan-exclusive versions were first shown during the February runway presentation. After Milan, 14 versions are set for store activations at Shanghai IFC and New York City 57th Street. (theimpression.com) (fendi.com) Fendi tied the relaunch to interiors and display design, not just accessories. At the Milan boutique, the bags were shown in wooden crates modeled on art-transport cases, with a video installation tracing the Baguette through the archive. (theimpression.com) (initaly.it) That staging pushed the bag into the language of collectible design: each re-edition carries a dedicated metal tag and comes in a custom wooden box with stencil detailing, a canvas belt and a metal buckle. Fendi described the packaging as inspired by crates used to ship artworks to exhibitions. (theimpression.com) (fendi.com) The Baguette was originally conceived as a small, elongated shoulder bag worn under the arm, a shape Fendi now describes as a rebuke to late-1990s minimalism. For the 2026 reissue, outside coverage said the bag keeps that silhouette while shifting to a softer build and easier under-the-arm fit. (fendi.com) (theimpression.com) Chiuri said the project also changed how the bag was made, bringing techniques closer to ready-to-wear construction, including work “normally used for prêt-à-porter, for dresses, with silk.” She said the point was to show guests “the quality and the craft that there is behind bags.” (theimpression.com) The result is a product launch that moves across runway, retail and exhibition design in one campaign. Fendi brought back a 1997 bag, but sold it in Milan as an object to collect, display and tour. (theimpression.com) (fendi.com)
