The galleries of an art museum aren’t the only places one can see the work of Victor Vasarely, the grandfather of Optical art. His dizzying pieces grace the halls of many prestigious institutions, and the facades of a select few. In the late 1990s, Fendi even immortalized his signature style in a bag. Well, not just a bag — a Baguette.
This rare Fendi Vasarely beaded Baguette, offered on 1stDibs by The Brand Archive, has an instantly recognizable silhouette, but its intricately beaded motifs make it unlike any of its Baguette brethren. The bag is crafted from silk woven to form a distorted grid of blues squares. The pattern, borrowed from Vasarely’s celebrated “Vega” series of paintings. appears on both the flap and the body, imposing a warped, convex illusion achieved through precise knitting and geometry.
Vasarely’s hallmark dots, meticulously rendered in hand-embroidered beadwork, add dimension and texture. The clasp is set with the Fendi logo carved from turquoise-colored malachite. The lizard skin strap, dyed a deep purplish pink, pops against the sea of blue, further unsettling the eye struggling to bring the piece into focus. It’s a piece of trickery that any Op artist would be proud of.
Designed by Silvia Venturini Fendi, the house’s longtime creative director of accessories (and granddaughter of its founders), the Fendi Baguette debuted in 1997. Its slim, practical design ran counter to the era’s fondness for mini designer backpacks in utilitarian finishes and equestrian silhouettes. Instead, Fendi evoked the distinctly French habit of tucking a wrapped loaf of bread from the boulangerie under an arm, leaving the hands free for other tasks. The popular style’s status as legend was cemented when Carrie Bradshaw was robbed in Season 3 of Sex and the City of her purple-sequined version, itself a hot commodity on the vintage market.
Fendi once said of her design, “I consider the Baguette a manifesto of identity and individuality, because it is always the same but always different.” The shape is indeed unmistakable, but also minimal enough to have lent itself to countless interpretations over the decades.
The uncontested hero of the house’s handbag offerings, the Baguette has been produced in every color and material you can imagine — from standard leather to luxe fur and mirrored embroidery. The Vasarely Baguette merges art with fashion, becoming a canvas on which to honor a trailblazing artist through the painstaking craftsmanship that is central to the brand’s identity.
The house recently showed a number of reissued vintage Baguette designs on the runway with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection, for Fall/Winter 2026. The rerelease of beloved archival zebra-print and watermelon-beaded designs was feted with a glitzy event at the Fendi flagship in Manhattan this summer, drawing celebrities and fashion devotees like moths to a flame. The new designs also on display received a mixed reception. It’s clearer than ever that, for a handbag lover, nothing is quite as satisfying as a good vintage Baguette.
