Don’t Miss: Arm Candy

Back in 1997, charged with the task of designing a streamlined, functional bag for her family’s fashion house, Silvia Venturini Fendi created the Baguette, an impractically small shoulder ornament, variably embellished with feathers, fur, and fanciful embroidery. It was a runaway hit. “My disobedience turned out to be a truly excellent idea,” recalls the designer in Fendi Baguette (Rizzoli, $125), a new book that celebrates the iconic bag’s 15th anniversary. Highlighting many of the 700 styles produced (including ones created by Damien Hirst and Richard Prince), it is perhaps just as covetable as the bag itself.

Photo: courtesy of Fendi