WHEN ITALIAN PORN STAR MOANA POZZI WALKED FOR FENDI
- Penélope Silva Miranda
- Apr 22
- 2 min read
Ever wonder why we rarely see Fendi’s Spring/Summer 1994 collection?
When I did a deep dive, I was shocked to find out why.
Karl Lagerfeld skipped the traditional runway show for Fendi that season. Instead, the daywear collection was presented on mannequins, lined up against the walls of the Barozzi Palace. Think pale knits, pastel suedes, and tailored dress suits.
And then came the twist...
In a separate room, a performance took place that would go down in fashion history. Italian porn star Moana Pozzi and a crew of strippers modeled swimsuits—black and white numbers, plus red-and-white striped ones—in a performance that got... let’s just say very graphic.
This unexpected display raised quite a few eyebrows. In fact, it’s rumored that Anna Wintour walked out. Many were scandalized—but like they say, no publicity is bad publicity. Everyone was talking about Fendi that season.
When the St. Louis Post asked Lagerfeld why he chose Moana Pozzi, his response was classic Lagerfeld:
“The Fendis wanted something different, because they had a problem with the unions and didn't want to use the big girls. You know, I'm very much against shows without the great girls, because they have the image and the faces of the time. Girls of 10 and 12 years dream of being Linda Evangelista, and that's very important. So I gave an idea to them, kind of like a joke, but maybe they had to ask a great director to do it.”
The Fendi sisters clearly understood the power of provocation—and the truth that sex sells. It’s wild to see how much more open the fashion industry has become today when it comes to sex and sex workers. Just think of Mia Khalifa walking for KNWLS and Di Petsa.
Although the collection got plenty of press back then, finding images of it now is surprisingly difficult. Luckily, we managed to track down some rare footage—fashion history gold.