Elliman VICINITY: A Conversation with Fashion Icon Alessia Saracino Fendi
by David Graver
April 2026
This article originally appeared in Vicinity: Your Neighborhood Guide to the Upper East Side | Spring 2026.
Born and raised on the Upper East Side to a father from Rome and a mother from Madrid, Alessia Saracino Fendi still calls the neighborhood home. The lawyer and fashion archivist debuted her children’s clothing brand, La Fefi, there this past December at Alexandra Chappelle Mack’s Holiday on Madison pop-up. This followed a soft launch at a trunk show for women-founded brands. The label transforms vintage pieces Fendi has collected over the years into timeless garments for children, which she sells by appointment from her Upper East Side apartment.
You left the Upper East Side to go to university in Washington, DC. What brought you back?
I never really left. I went to Georgetown and then Sciences Po in Paris, but I always knew I’d return. When friends came back to New York, they all went downtown—I didn’t want that. I love heading uptown after dinner or drinks and feeling a sense of coming home. There’s something special about flying up Madison Avenue at night.
In my twenties, people told me I was missing out. I felt the opposite—that they were missing the community of the Upper East Side. I knew they’d eventually come back, and I wanted my life and routine to already be here.
Why do you think they are all coming back now?
There’s a magical, almost ephemeral beauty to the neighborhood. It renews itself every decade but stays true to its core. Walking Fifth Avenue or through Central Park feels timeless, and just a few blocks east you’ll find mom-and-pop shops and tailors that have been around for decades.
There are new restaurants and clubs now, but I don’t think the Upper East Side needs to be “cooler.” Its essence—the women shopping at Zitomer or ordering from Lobel’s on a house account—deserves to be preserved. I am excited by the newly established jewelry brand Magaloni by Inés Bustamante.
There’s a real sense of quality here. You have to meet it. Institutions last because standards matter and customers show up every day.
Do you have an Upper East Side routine?
I love coffee—Sant Ambroeus has always been a favorite, and lately Birley Bakery. I also love the Neue Galerie and Café Sabarsky, as well as Designer Revival and Via Quadronno.
Where did you begin acquiring pieces for La Fefi?
I’ve been buying vintage since I was 12—for myself, my sister, and my mom. It became my go-to gift. Whenever my family traveled, I’d carve out time to hunt for vintage. Children’s pieces are rare, so when I found them, I bought them.
Do you have guidance for acquiring pieces for children?
When giving a gift, think about what parents want to see their children wearing—and what truly suits them. At a certain age, dressing children is really about the joy it brings the parents.
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