Pre-owned Fendi

Fendi is a Rome house, and its Selleria line is cut from thick Cuoio Romano leather, saddle-stitched by hand. On a used Selleria piece the seams are what you read first. The stitches are long and you can see each one from a step back. A loose thread, or a gap where a stitch has pulled out, is wear. The grain softens where a hand or a forearm has rested, and it goes darker at the strap anchors.

On a Peekaboo in smooth calf, the history is at the corners. The frame inside holds the shape, so every time the bag is set down the same four points meet the floor. Look there for leather rubbed to a lighter tone. The twist locks on the front take the rest of the wear, as scratches across the plating and fine flaking at its edges.

On coated FF canvas, the coating wears differently from leather. Look at the surface rather than the print, since it goes matte along the base and wherever a strap crosses it. On a Kan I or a Baguette in canvas, check the trim as well. Look at the leather binding along the edge for rubbing, and at the canvas beside it for the same dull patch.

Nappa and lambskin turn up on the softer bags, the Spy above all. These skins slump when the bag is set down, and a used one will have creases along the fold and a sheen where the handle has been gripped. The compartment tucked into the Spy’s handle should still open cleanly.

Where the lining is fabric, it should sit flat with no glue showing at the seams. A turning FF clasp should turn without catching, and a magnetic one should snap shut.

The Fendi lines Kove has right now are the Peekaboo, the Baguette, the Sunshine, the 2Jours, the By The Way, the Kan I, the Mon Trésor and the Spy. On every Kove page the condition is described piece by piece, marks of use included, and the published price is the final one.