After launching a “mega headquarters” in Corso Venezia in Milan, Italian fashion brand Frankie Morello is preparing to expand into China through a JV with UK brand Oasis Fashion.

Being underwritten by the Ammann family, which owns Frankie Morello, the JV plans to open 128 single-brand stores and 10 outlets in the next seven years.

After the first phase, which starts with the 2017-2018 autumn-winter, the venture will open spaces dedicated to accessories, the result of a new brand extension.

The Frankie Morello brand was founded in 1999 as a collaboration between designers Maurizio Modica and Pierfrancesco Gigliotti.

Modica worked in Paris and Milan as a performer, choreographer, and set and costume designer before working with utensils brand Alessi.

Gigliotti graduated from the Politecnico di Milano with a thesis called The Suit as Architecture of the Body, and has worked in Milan, Stockholm, New York and Tokyo.

Oasis launched 25 years ago and now has about 300 stores in the UK and Ireland plus more than 200 concessions. It also trades in 96 locations across 27 countries.