Versace and Bruce Weber have released the second part of their FW16 campaign, in the form of a new film titled Chicago is my beat. The film was screened first at the house’s SS17 show during Milan fashion week, and is marks the duo’s first collaboration in seventeen years. 

“The actor Robert Mitchum once told me, “when you first get to a new town, always make friends with a Blonde,” said Weber of the collaboration, quoting Hollywood’s ultimate on screen bad boy. “Well, when I got to Chicago, I found my blonde in you, Donatella.”

Weber and Versace have a long history, the photographer captured that iconic Versace aesthetic through campaigns during the 80s and 90s. Now, the new film indulges in the rich history of Chicago via black and white footage and old-school soul soundtrack.

Combined with the youthful spirit of Versace and his own inimitable style, Weber puts it all in a 21st century focus: intermittent colour and dance (starring young Chicago dancers street cast by Weber himself while in Chicago to shoot the campaign), famous faces (Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss, who play young mothers in a very Versace take on modern urban lifestyle) and a classic aesthetic that harks back to the Weber-Versace heyday.

Watch the film above then indulge in a few campaigns from the “good old Versace days”, below. For old time’s sake.

Follow Fiona Hope McDowall on Twitter @fionahope_