London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

How Do You Say Fendace? Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and More Step Out in Versace and Fendi’s Runway Collaboration

How Do You Say Fendace? Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and More Step Out in Versace and Fendi’s Runway Collaboration

Donatella Versace and Kim Jones and Silvia Fenturini of Fendi join forces for an unprecedented collaboration they're calling Fendace.

Many extraordinary shows have happened in the courtyard of the Versace family palazzo on Via Gesu, but tonight’s was something entirely new-and in fashion, that’s very extraordinary indeed. What went down is that Kim Jones and Silvia Venturini Fendi of Fendi and Donatella Versace of Versace swapped houses-apparently for one night only-to design 25 looks for their erstwhile rivals. The result was a fabulous fashion Frankenstein christened Fendace, and it was modeled by a cast you suspect will go down as by far this season’s most spectacular.

And yet as mind-blowing as the casting was-and it was-arguably the most thrillingly unprecedented moment of all happened shortly after Kate Moss and Amber Valletta had walked together and Kim Jones had popped out to take a bow for his part in designing the first 25 looks. Suddenly the Medusa faced panels embedded in the foliage walls of the fashion space rotated to reveal the double-F logo designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi. In this citadel of Versaciness, that felt almost shockingly radical.

In the love-crush backstage afterwards the audience that included Elizabeth Hurley, her son Damian, and Dua Lipa collided with the cast. The vibe was, as Amanda Harlech so aptly put it, “hallucinatory.” Had we really just seen Donatella Versace take a bow for designing a Fendi collection-ok, Fendace-that closed with Naomi Campbell? Was that really Moss dancing with Shalom Harlow for the final lineup alongside Karen Elson, Kristen McMenamy, and contemporary up-and-comers including Gigi Hadid, Adut Akech, Emily Ratajkowski, Vittoria Ceretti, and, oh yes, young Lila Moss Hack?

In the thick of that crush was Kim Jones, who explained how the Fendace Frankenstein was first formulated. “In February after the ready-to-wear show we came to dinner here with Donatella. Silvia and Donatella got on really well, and we thought it would be nice to have some fun. It was a design-off: we designed Versace and she designed Fendi. Remember these two houses are not in the same group: we’ve just done it as friends, and out of respect for each other. It’s never been planned as a commercial thing.”

Having the chance to get his hands on the Versace archive, he added: “was mind-blowing. There are things I’d never had the chance to see with my own eyes. And when Donatella went to the Fendi archive she picked out things from the same period we were looking at, by chance. Also Donatella has never designed for another brand, and neither has Silvia so it was very interesting to see. But the reasons behind it were straightforward: we wanted to do something that was optimistic and fun as we return to live shows. And we wanted to do it because we love each other.”

As Jones was hinting, the most notable recent comparable fashion ‘contamination,’ between Balenciaga and Gucci, was indeed a project comprising two parts of a greater corporate whole. The most committed contaminator in fashion, meanwhile, is probably Moncler through its Genius project: however in this it acts more as curator more than co-creator. This was something both more radical and more daringly democratic: a meeting of three disparate design minds, all at the highest echelons of fashion, and all acting with an in-this-business all-too-rare creative humility in allowing one another free rein to reinterpret each other’s IP. It also had a heritage house logic to it, in that Gianni Versace and Karl Lagerfeld were both extremely friendly rivals. What remained unclear as the post-show party that promised to be an all-nighter began is whether this Fendace capsule is a one-off-or whether there might be a return round, maybe hosted by Fendi, next season. Tonight would be hard to top.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×