Fendi Opens Second Round of Its Design Prize, This Time Focused on Furniture

Fendi, the Italian luxury house owned by LVMH, has launched the second edition of its Fendi Design Prize, and this year's brief is about furniture. The theme is "Where furniture meets imagination," according to WWD.

Most shoppers know Fendi for its handbags and ready-to-wear. The prize is a different kind of project. It asks designers to imagine how people live, not what they carry.

The initiative started in early 2026. Its first winner was Swedish designer Gustav Craft, whose "Via" project was announced in April during Milan Design Week, the furniture and design fair held each spring in the Italian city.

For the second edition, the brief has been shared with leading global design schools. Entrants are invited to present a living environment made up of furniture pieces and accessories. The guidelines ask for one "hero piece," meaning a central item, for indoor or outdoor contemporary living spaces that can accommodate several people at once.

Submissions open in the first two weeks of February. The winner will be revealed during Milan Design Week, which runs from 12 to 18 April. That gives entrants a fixed timetable, with the same city and week serving as the finish line for the prize.

Designer Giulio Cappellini will again curate the prize, following his role in the first edition.

The prize sits at the point where a fashion company meets the home. A fashion house that makes bags and clothing is asking young designers to build rooms, and the winning project will be chosen in a city known for its furniture industry. For designers who enter, the February deadline and the April reveal set out the path from first sketch to public announcement.