FENDI has launched the FENDI Design Prize, a new annual award dedicated to emerging design talent. Curated by Giulio Cappellini and judged by a jury that includes Cristina Celestino, Joseph Grima, Neri & Hu, Rossana Orlandi, Josh Owen, and Patricia Urquiola, the prize drew over 70 applications from leading design schools worldwide in its inaugural edition.
The first winner, announced on April 19th during Milano Design Week at the FENDI Casa boutique in Piazza della Scala, is VIA by Gustav Craft. The project takes the sampietrino, the small basalt block that has paved Rome’s streets for two thousand years, as its organising idea. In the collection, woven leather seats reference the Roman road, steel frames follow the surveyor’s grid with weld joints left visible, and a razor-thin mirror rests on a single rough-cut sampietrino block.
Cappellini described the winning project as one that expresses FENDI’s contemporaneity while respecting tradition, with technology and craftsmanship coming together to produce objects with a strong formal identity. Joseph Grima noted that Craft’s pieces reference the Roman urban landscape without literalism, and with a confidence that recalls the best of Italian rationalism without quoting it directly. For Josh Owen, the project stood apart for its depth of connection to the fundamental materiality of Rome, reflecting textures that are at once ancient and modern.
Five other finalist projects were presented alongside VIA at the Milan event: TEMPUS AUREA by Mimisol Arjona, Hugo Crevet, Luc Hosy, Valeria Lupo, and Dhruv Vyas, which translated the Roman sundial and the lectus into a leather wall clock and lounge bench; VELARE CAPSULE COLLECTION by Mahra Mustafa, a deep-blue suede and glass collection exploring the filtered light of Roman dusk; ROVINE by Samina Ilyas and Isabella Maria Motta Gallego, which applied partially eroded silvering mirror techniques to evoke the Pantheon’s geometry; CONVIVIUM by Pierferdinando Arcella, reimagining the Roman triclinium as a contemporary object for sharing; and the FENDI FITNESS KIT by Muskaan Agarwal and Matilde Brambilla, proposing sculptural luxury objects that double as workout tools.
Participants were briefed to present a living environment incorporating upcycled FENDI leather or fur and drawing on signature house codes: Selleria, the FENDI colour palette, and inspiration from Rome. Ramon Ros, FENDI Chairman and CEO, described the prize as a continuation of the Maison’s history of nurturing talent, and an opportunity to see the next generation interpret the house’s codes from around the world.
VIA will be realised and presented at Design Miami in December 2026, with a potential collection or selection of pieces developed in collaboration with FENDI Casa in 2027. The prize will return as an annual initiative, with FENDI naming its next edition in due course.
