A MEETING OF MINDS

TWO POWERHOUSES of ITALIAN GLAMOUR FENDI and VERSACE CAPTURE TWO DYNAMIC SIDES OF ITALY in THIS HISTORIC PARTNERSHIP. MEET FENDACE

- AMANDA LEO

First things first – this is not a collaboration. It's Fendace, the first-ever house-swap between Fendi and Versace, and the very first of its kind in fashion history. Inspired by the friendship and mutual respect between Versace's chief creative officer Donatella Versace and Fendi's artistic director Kim Jones, this celebration of Italian glamour was conceived over dinner in February, with both designers stepping away from their own houses to design for other.

Unlike traditional collaborations, the pair made it clear that this was different, because each worked on their collection independently of the other, with Jones and Donatella delving into each other's archives to reinterpret key motifs of the two brands.

Fendace is about the need for sincerity in fashion today rather than strategy. It's a celebration of Italian fashion and a to hell-with-it disruption of the established order of things, the two say.

The result? A 50-piece collection presented on the last day of Milan Fashion Week, capturing the two sides of Italy - Milan, where Versace was born, and Rome, the heart of Fendi.

Rome is a cultural, romantic city. It's a place of cinema, luxury and stars of the past, and Fendi embodies that feeling of poised opulence found only in the Eternal City, fleshing out its sartorial vision in soft furs and silks. In comparison, Versace represents the bolder, sexier side of Italy, with its Medusa logo an apt symbol of the fatal attraction of the house's daring pieces. It's half royalty, half rock-and-roll, and a complete manifestation of provocative desire in clothing form.