Talking 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 Now, separation and mystery are no longer valid – people want to see the inner workings.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.”