TAKING ON MIAMI

HELD EVERY DECEMBER, THE INTERNATIONAL DESIGN FAIR DESIGN MIAMI HAS ALWAYS BEEN A HEADY CONFLUENCE OF FASHION AND ART. FOR THE 2020 EDITION, FENDI – WHICH HAS BEEN TAKING PART IN THE SHOW FOR THE PAST 12 YEARS – ROPED IN NEW YORK ARTIST SARAH COLEMAN TO REINTERPRET NOT ONLY ITS BOUTIQUE IN THE CITY, BUT ALSO A SERIES OF ITS PEEKABOO TOTES.

PLAYING WITH LOGOS AND MONOGRAMS IN HER WORK (FENDI’S INCLUDED), COLEMAN RECONTEXTUALISES THE VISUAL LANGUAGE OF LUXURY BRANDING – AN APPROACH THAT GETS THE THUMBS UP FROM SILVIA VENTURINI FENDI. THE COLLABORATION IS AN “OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HOW SUCH CREATIVITY CAN EVOLVE”, SAYS THE BRAND’S DOYENNE. GORDON NG GETS AN EXCLUSIVE FROM BOTH WOMEN ON HOW THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THEIR WORLDS IS MORE EXCITING – AND IMPORTANT – THAN EVER.

FENDI HAS BEEN A PRESENCE AT DESIGN MIAMI SINCE 2008. HOW HAS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART, FASHION AND DESIGN CHANGED SINCE? SILVIA VENTURINI FENDI (SVF):

“They’ve always been closely linked, influencing and inspiring each other. The main difference is social media, which has enabled the interaction between the three areas to go even further.” SARAH COLEMAN (SC): “There’s a coming together and a blurring of lines. Perhaps it just wasn’t the time before – each category needed to exist as its own thing to create a strong identity separate from the other. Now, separation and mystery are no longer valid – people want to see the inner workings. We’re asking how we can work together and what we have in common. It’s an overlap that needs to occur in order for us to move forward.”

FASHION BRANDS SEEM MORE OPEN THESE DAYS ABOUT LETTING THEIR VISUAL LEXICON BE REINTERPRETED. PART OF THE BRIEF FOR THIS COLLABORATION WAS IN FACT TO BE “DISRUPTIVE”. SVF:

“To me, ‘disruptive’ is something that’s unexpected, but still respects the brand codes. I love Sarah’s sense of artistic fun and clever irony. We share this same approach to creativity so I was naturally drawn to her work... It embodies our spirit of taking craft in new directions... At Fendi we have a strong womanhood heritage and ethos so it’s also always a pleasure to work with female talents.” SC: “I think it’s about letting go of control. I truly believe that when brands give these types of opportunities to bring someone else in, it shows confidence. Fendi’s identity is so strong – it’s almost like ‘why not try something fun and different?’... (To hear Silvia tell me to be disruptive) was liberating.”

SARAH, YOUR WORK HAS A PLAYFUL IRONY THAT TAKES SOME SERIOUSNESS OUT OF LUXURY FASHION. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT FEELS SO CONTEMPORARY? SC:

“People are sick of how serious everything has become. I am, at least. Being human means being ironic, serious, free, imperfect and humorous at times. To laugh and cry on the same day, to be fluid and experience different things at the same time. I guess being ironic just means being human.”

SARAH’S WORK IS SO REFRESHING BECAUSE IT DOESN’T SEEM CONCEPTUALLY LABORIOUS. WHAT IS THE VALUE OF SPONTANEITY TO YOU, SARAH? SC:

“My spontaneity creates an authentic line from me to my work and then the viewer. Thinking too much and planning to the last second messes me up. Nothing ever goes exactly how I think it will so I don’t even try to control the process. The things I create when my mind is quiet are the most successful and fulfilling.”

THIS PROJECT MAKES USE OF A LOT OF ARCHIVAL AND VINTAGE MATERIALS AND REFERENCES. WHY THE AFFINITY FOR OLD THINGS? SC:

“I tend to personify objects – like imagining lamps, chairs or luggage as beings. I love the idea that they’ve lived lives before they reach my hands. I love giving these pieces – often forgotten in the backs of closets and basements – new life. My imagination runs wild. This part of me is very childlike and I feel lucky that I never lost it.” SVF: “In this global pandemic, we know that there are more ways that we can work together and many ways in which we can look within. For example, during the lockdown, I spent more time with my family and rediscovered the pleasure of small things and traditions and the treasures that passed from one generation to the other. The concept for Design Miami this year is specifically centred around Sarah’s design ethos of repurposing. With Fendi, there are so many archival images that we can look at to tell a beautiful story from a new perspective.”

YOU BOTH HAVE DONE SO MANY COLLABORATIONS. HOW WAS THIS ONE DIFFERENT? SC:

“My work has evolved in so many ways, but during this collaboration, I went back to methods I used in the past which I had missed for a while. It was such a nice feeling to experiment and draw upon my own history. This was such a unique opportunity for me to go from physical repurposing of materials to a conceptual repurposing of history.” SVF: “Design is a never-ending passion and a source of constant inspiration. It is a fascinating world made up of individuals with extraordinary personalities and personal styles that shun the conventional. Our partnerships provide a stimulus to dare, to experiment, to free our creativity and push ourselves beyond established limits. For the Design Miami projects alone, we have worked with such fantastic names including Cristina Celestino, Sabine Marcelis, Chiara Andreatti, among others. They provide the perfect complement to what we are creating with our collections... Who knows? This may be just the beginning of another collaboration.”