Donatella Versace Invites Precious Lee, Indya Moore to Discuss Female Empowerment
CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS: It’s time for the Medusas to talk.
On Tuesday Versace launched the “Medusa Power Talks” project intended to amplify the conversation about female empowerment. Versace is inviting women and nonbinary talents to discuss the role power plays in navigating modern life as well as the double standards they often have to deal with when expressing power.
In particular, Versace tapped international talents including the brand’s catwalk regulars Irina Shayk and Precious Lee; actress and model Indya Moore; photographer Lucka Ngo, and activists Chelsea Miller and Nialah Edari. These personalities will join the fashion house’s chief creative director Donatella Versace in a series of recorded interviews that will be shared on the brand’s social media platforms starting this week. The project will culminate in a live discussion hosted next month on Versace’s Clubhouse account, which will be launched simultaneously with this initiative.
“The archetype of a powerful person has changed forever. For me, to be powerful is above all the freedom to express yourself as you are, without any fear,” said Versace. “Power plays many roles in our everyday lives. With my amazing panel of friends, Medusa Power Talks will discuss, examine and no doubt argue about what it means for us all to be powerful in 2021. I am passionate about offering a platform to voices that represent the future I want to see, and I can’t wait to hear their stories.”
In a series of brief videos posted on Instagram to tease the project, the designer explained the link to the Medusa emblem — long a brand logo — which she defined not just as a symbol but as “every woman.”
“She’s a woman that suits many powers, including the power of love. That’s what Medusa represents to me: a refusal to be defeated. Is the Medusa in me? I feel I am the Medusa,” said Versace.
In other teasers, Precious Lee stated that “being powerful requires perseverance and it requires a relentless and laser-focus vision of what it is you see yourself as,” while Shayk rhetorically asked, “Do I want more power? Who doesn’t?”
As part of Versace’s commitment to supporting gender equality, the brand recently donated a portion of sales made during the International Women’s Day weekend to the Women’s Center for Creative Work, a Los Angeles-based organization prioritizing and elevating the work of women of color, queer, trans and nonbinary individuals and artists in other marginalized communities.
