S/S 1991 Atelier Versace by Gianni Versace Grecian Tunic Two Piece Dress Set
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Bust: 32 in (81.28 cm)Waist: 30 in (76.2 cm)Hip: 32 in (81.28 cm)Shoulder to Hem: 31 in (78.74 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Light pulls and normal wear throughout.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388213472982
Gianni Versace
The signature extravagance of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace — forever aligned with glamour, sex, celebrity and spectacle — can overshadow the Italian couturier’s broad and deep engagement with history and culture. Today, his vintage dresses and gowns, handbags, sunglasses and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
More than any designer before him, Versace mined celebrity, music and Pop art for inspiration, and his subversive, maximalist and unabashedly seductive designs infused high fashion with an entirely new ethos. “I don’t believe in good taste,” he once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life.
Gianni Versace was born in Calabria, Italy. His mother was a successful dressmaker who employed more than 40 seamstresses. As a child, little Gianni marveled at her workshop, which would become a university of sorts, where he learned the exceptional construction techniques that were at the foundation of his creative expression.
In 1972, at age 25, he moved to Milan to work in fashion. He launched his first collection — and his label — in 1978, with his older brother Santo managing the business concerns. Soon, sister Donatella, whom Gianni dressed and took to discos when she was still a child, joined the family venture, where she had a creative role and managed enormously popular ready-to-wear lines such as Versus.
Vintage Versace — and Gianni Versace Couture, which debuted in 1989 — has become catnip for modern fashion enthusiasts who seek out the now-iconic house codes that originated in the designs of the 1980s and 1990s. His glamorous and seductive apparel — the clingy skirts and slender, strappy party dresses, as well as the erotic magazine ads that publicized them — looms large, but Versace’s art and historical influences were also vast.
Versace was an art collector, and he took on commissions to create costumes for theatrical performances during the 1980s and spoke of looking to numerous cultures for inspiration. The New York Times noted in 1997 that the fashion industry “is now driven by contemporary culture because Mr. Versace made it that way.”
Insiders consider his 1991/1992 Autumn/Winter runway show — which featured supermodels Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista lip-synching George Michael’s “Freedom” — as the moment when the two worlds of fashion and pop culture became one, changing both forever.
Versace's adventurous spirit of design resulted in his creating jewel-toned prints rooted in Grecian motifs, Etruscan symbols, the Italian Baroque and Andy Warholʼs Marilyn Monroe. There were slinky dresses in Oroton, his patented chain-mail textile that draped like satin, and leather bondage ensembles. Sex sold, for both women and men. Wrote the late curator Richard Martin, “[Versace] became the standard-bearer of gay men’s fashion because he eschewed decorum and designed for desire.”
Following Versace’s tragic murder in 1997, Donatella took over the role of artistic director and continued to evolve the house codes with a twist of her feminine and feminist perspective. Today, Santo Versace is chief executive officer of Versace and Donatella is its chief creative officer.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Gianni Versace evening dresses, handbags, day dresses and more on 1stDibs.
Atelier Versace
Subversive, maximalist and unabashedly seductive, Gianni Versace’s (1946–97) designs infused high fashion with an entirely new ethos. “I don’t believe in good taste,” the legendary Italian couturier once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life.
Today, vintage Versace clothing, handbags and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant. The designer debuted his Atelier Versace line — which was part of his first haute couture collection — in 1989.
More than any designer before him, Versace mined celebrity, music and Pop art for inspiration. In fact, the New York Times noted in 1997 that the fashion industry “is now driven by contemporary culture because Mr. Versace made it that way.”
Insiders consider his 1991/1992 Autumn/Winter runway show — which featured supermodels Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista lip-synching George Michael’s “Freedom! '90” — the moment when the two worlds of fashion and pop culture became one, changing both forever.
Versace was born in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. His mother was a successful dressmaker who employed more than 40 seamstresses. As a child, little Gianni marveled at her workshop, which would become a university of sorts, where he learned the exceptional construction techniques that were at the foundation of his creative expression.
In 1972, at age 25, Versace moved to Milan to work in fashion. He launched his first collection — and his label — in 1978, with his older brother Santo managing the business concerns. Soon, sister Donatella, whom Gianni dressed and took to discos when she was still a child, joined the family venture, where she had a creative role and managed enormously popular ready-to-wear lines such as Versus.
Vintage Versace — and 1989's Gianni Versace Couture — has become catnip for modern fashion enthusiasts who seek out the now-iconic house codes that originated in the designs of the 1980s and 1990s. His glamorous and seductive apparel — the clingy skirts and slender, strappy party dresses, as well as the erotic magazine ads that publicized them — looms large, but Versace’s art and historical influences were also vast.
Versace was an art collector, and he took on commissions to create costumes for theatrical performances during the 1980s and spoke of looking to numerous cultures for inspiration. This adventurous spirit of design resulted in his creating jewel-toned prints rooted in Grecian motifs, Etruscan symbols, the Italian Baroque and Andy Warholʼs Marilyn Monroe. There were slinky dresses in Oroton, his patented chain-mail textile that draped like satin, and leather bondage ensembles. Sex sold, for both women and men. Wrote the late curator Richard Martin, “[Versace] became the standard-bearer of gay men’s fashion because he eschewed decorum and designed for desire.”
Following Versace’s tragic murder in 1997, Donatella took over the role of artistic director and continued to evolve the house codes with a twist of her feminine and feminist perspective. Today, Santo Versace is chief executive officer of Versace and Donatella is its chief creative officer.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Atelier Versace dresses, evening gowns and more on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- F/W 1993 Gianni Versace Couture Blue Purple Green Red Stripe Velvet Mini DressBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a vibrant striped velvet Gianni Versace Couture mini dress, designed by Gianni Versace. The full-length version of this dress debuted as the finale look on the Fall/Winter...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dresses
- S/S 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Purple Lace-Up Eyelet DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a purple plunging eyelet dress designed by Donatella for the Gianni Versace Spring/Summer 2002 collection. The eyelets that cover every inch of this dress give it a flirty...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 2002 Gianni Versace by Donatella Runway Purple Lace-Up Eyelet DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a purple plunging eyelet dress designed by Donatella for the Gianni Versace Spring/Summer 2002 collection. The eyelets that cover every inch of this dress give it a light ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 1999 Gianni Versace by Donatella Runway Abstract Print Purple Silk DressBy Gianni Versace Couture, Donatella Versace for Gianni VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a beautiful purple abstract Gianni Versace dress, designed by Donatella Versace for the Spring/Summer 1999 collection. This dress debuted on the season's runway and features a bold abstract purple print throughout with a v-neckline. Add this late 1990s runway...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- F/W 2004 Versace by Donatella Versace Purple Tiger One Shoulder Buckle DressBy Versace, Donatella VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a vibrant purple tiger print Versace dress, designed by Donatella Versace. From the Fall/Winter 2004 collection, the same print in yellow/orange debuted on looks 8 and 11. This beautiful deep purple dress...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 2000 Gianni Versace by Donatella Purple Suede Medusa Button Up DressBy Gianni Versace, Donatella Versace for Gianni VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a purple suede shirt dress designed by Donatella for her iconic Gianni Versace Spring/Summer 2000 collection, remembered for its jungle pr...Category
Early 2000s American Casual Dresses
- Zandra Rhodes Vintage Purple Blue Off Shoulder Cocktail Silk DressBy Zandra RhodesLocated in Beverly Hills, CA1980s Zandra Rhodes off shoulder purple blue silk chiffon cocktail dress. Fit Size 4 Bust: 34 inches/ Waist: 28 inches ** minor discoloration inside lining ( see image attached)Category
1980s British Summer Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Satin Dress by Stefano Pilati, 2008 CollectionBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Toulon, FRSpring Summer 2008 Collection France Yves Saint Laurent sleeveless dress in amethyst silk satin. Spring Summer 2008 collection by Stéfano Pilati. Variation passage no. 14. Round neckline underlined by flat pleats with draping effect all along the dress. Label white background black graphic Yves Saint Laurent Made in...Category
Early 2000s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
- A French Navy Chiffon Cocktail Dress with White Polka Dots Circa 1975Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1975 France Elegant cocktail or ceremonial dress in navy chiffon printed with white polka dot stencil, signed Anne Valone Paris Circa 1975. Dr...Category
1970s French Cocktail Dresses
- Mariano Fortuny Amythest Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in New York, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated amythest colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording. Named after a Greek cla...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Joseph Magnin 1960s Navy Blue + Red Linen Silk Nautical Vintage 60s Shift DressBy Joseph Magnin Co.Located in San Diego, CAChic 1960s JOSEPH MAGNIN navy blue and red linen and silk blend nautical shift dress! A dead ringer for Norman Norell, Pierre Cardin, or Louis Feraud. Features a regal Roman like sc...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Chanel Karl Lagerfeld Large Size 44 Pink 80s Logo Silk 1980s Shirt DressBy Karl Lagerfeld, ChanelLocated in San Diego, CARare vintage CHANEL late 80s larger size pink and white logo print silk shirt dress! Unbelievably chic print with a flattering fit. Interior hook-and-eye c...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses