The 1990s Fendi Hand-Painted Clutch: Flowers on Black with a Lizard Flap

A printed pattern repeats; a painted one does not. On this Fendi clutch from the 1990s, the flowers on the black fabric are painted by hand, so that each bag of its kind carries its own version of the design. The flap that closes it is in genuine lizard skin, and an adjustable leather strap allows it to be worn as well as held.

Fendi

Fendi was founded in Rome in 1925 by Adele and Edoardo Fendi, as a shop and workshop for leather goods and furs. Their five daughters later ran the business together, and the house's own history describes how they built it into an international name, working with Karl Lagerfeld from 1965. In the 1990s, their granddaughter Silvia Venturini Fendi took charge of accessories, the area in which the house would introduce the Baguette in 1997.

The house's own account of its history gives a central place to craftsmanship, from fur and leather to the decorative work applied to its bags.

Paint and skin

The clutch combines two very different surfaces. The body is black fabric, a neutral ground on which the hand-painted flowers stand out clearly. The flap is lizard skin, a material with a fine scale pattern that adds texture to the front of the bag.

Together, the painted fabric and the exotic skin give the bag a decorative quality suited to the evening, while the adjustable leather strap keeps it practical. Inside, there are zip pockets.

The bag measures 9 by 6.5 inches, about 23 by 16.5 centimetres.

The object

The Archivary describes the bag as a 1990s Fendi clutch in black fabric with hand-painted flowers, a flap closure of genuine lizard skin, interior zip pockets and an adjustable leather strap. It is recorded in very good vintage condition.