Maria Grazia Chiuri is turning to Fendi's most recognisable handbags as she begins shaping the Italian house's next chapter.
For Spring/Summer 2027, the designer has placed established leather-goods codes at the centre of her latest collection, with the Baguette receiving a new interpretation and the Peekaboo continuing as an established Fendi signature, providing a direct link between the house's history and the new direction she is shaping.
The choice is particularly significant because Chiuri is not arriving at Fendi with a clean slate. She worked in the house's accessories division during her earlier career there and was closely involved in the development of the Baguette, making the famous design an unusually personal link to her return.
Now, rather than moving away from Fendi's best-known handbag signatures, she is using their established recognition as a foundation for change.
The result is a collection in which familiar signatures are reworked through proportion, craftsmanship, texture and function–allowing Chiuri to introduce something new without severing the connection to what has made Fendi instantly identifiable.
Baguette, Peekaboo Become Tools for Reinvention
The Baguette's importance to Chiuri's Fendi story is particularly striking.
During her earlier tenure at the house, Chiuri worked in accessories and was closely involved in the development of the Baguette. For her new era at Fendi, the familiar silhouette has returned with treatments that place renewed emphasis on craftsmanship, proportion and function.
For SS27, Chiuri has also introduced a new Baguette resized specifically to hold a mobile phone. Vogue reported that Chiuri mentioned the phone-sized version during the Milan presentation, showing how one of Fendi's most recognisable designs can be adapted to contemporary use.
That move from statement accessory to everyday function gives the icon a more contemporary role. The Baguette remains recognisable, but its proportions and purpose can change with the way people use their accessories.
The Peekaboo provides another established Fendi signature for Chiuri to work with. The house describes it as one of its iconic bags, while its current iterations include variations in size, construction and personalisation.
Chiuri has already introduced the My Peekaboo for Fall/Winter 2026–27, giving the classic design a more intimate and customisable expression.
Rather than treating these designs as untouchable heritage pieces, Chiuri is showing how established signatures can become starting points for new ideas.
Heritage Meets a New Direction
The importance of the handbags goes beyond their appearance on the runway.
Fendi's accessories provide a familiar vocabulary through which Chiuri can communicate her new direction. The Baguette and Peekaboo already belong to the house's visual identity, meaning their evolution can connect creative change with designs that are already closely associated with Fendi's identity.
That approach is also reflected in Chiuri's broader SS27 vision. The collection explores ideas around freedom, the relationship between clothing and the body, and the meeting of masculine and feminine elements, with the designer continuing to examine how fashion interacts with contemporary life.
The handbags translate some of that thinking into accessories. The Baguette's phone-sized interpretation, for example, gives an established design a more functional role, while the continued development of the Peekaboo gives Chiuri another established Fendi signature through which to explore individuality without abandoning a recognisable house identity.
There is therefore a balancing act at work: preserving the names and silhouettes that carry Fendi's heritage while changing the details that can make them feel relevant to a new moment.
For Chiuri, the SS27 collection suggests that Fendi's next handbag chapter may not require an entirely new icon from scratch. Instead, its existing signatures can evolve alongside the house itself.
With the Baguette returning in a new SS27 interpretation and the Peekaboo already established as part of Chiuri's Fendi vocabulary, the house is using familiar handbag signatures to introduce a distinctly new chapter.
