Carla Fendi passes away in Rome

Carla Fendi, who along with four sisters helped build her parents' leather and fur goods shop in Rome into a global fashion powerhouse, has died aged 80, Italian press reports said Tuesday. Her death Monday was reported by members of her family, according to the reports.

It was Carla and her sisters -- Paola, Anna, Franca and Alda -- who in 1965 brought in Karl Lagerfeld, then a young German designer, to create a women's ready-to-wear-line.

Honorary president of the Fendi group, now a part of the LVMH fashion conglomerate, Carla Fendi focused mainly on public relations and fostering the label's international growth.

An enthusiastic fan of art and music, Carla Fendi created in 2007 a foundation for supporting Italy's cultural heritage, and was one of the main benefactors of the Festival dei Due Mondi ("Festival of Two Worlds"), an annual classical music festival in Spoleto, central Italy. (AFP)