Adele Casagrande started her first fur shop in Rome, Italy in 1918. In 1925, Adele married Edoardo Fendi and she changed the name of the shop to Fendi. Fendi had a long list of loyal private clients, and in 1938 a second shop was opened in Rome. Over time, the business continued to grow, and each of Adele¡¯s five daughters joined the family business as they became old enough. When Edoardo died suddenly in 1954, Adele was left the business to run with her daughters. Each daughter took on a specific task in the store and this proved to be a profitable move.

Initially, the sisters became very famous for their fur coats. The work was shared between them, with Paola responsible for the pelts, Anna designing bags and accessories, Franca running the luggage and leather shops, Alda managing the fur salons and Carla responsible for overall supervision. They called on Karl Lagerfeld in 1962 to design their dramatic furs and he still does so today. The famous Fendi logo was actually introduced to the company by Lagerfeld.

Fendi released the Couture Fur collection in 1966, with ready-to-wear collections following in 1969. Lagerfeld has designed fur casualwear, fur trimmed denim jackets, fur-lined sporty raincoats, and other garments combining his aesthetic with the latest high tech industry developments and colouring techniques.

The Fendi sisters' children grew up in the business and are now company directors. They released their own label Fendissime, with Gianbattista Valli working as designer for a year in 1990 on the new Fendissime line.

Fendi salons are now found in all the major cities in the world, with the base remaining in Rome and a flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York.