Gianni Versace Iconic Signature Whimsical Silk Scarf
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2477274022
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Yves Saint Laurent Large Iconic "Shades of Coral" Silk Fringed ScarfBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYThis wonderfully large Yves Saint Laurent Iconic "Shades of Coral" silk scarf with fringed edges, measures 68 inches by 18 inches. Made ...Category
1970s French Scarves
- Echo Vintage Large Burgundy "Autumn Leafs" Wool Challis With Fringed ScarfBy EchoLocated in New York, NYEcho wonderfully elegant burgundy "Autumn Leafs" wool challis scarf with fringed borders, measures 40 inches by 39 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1980s Italian Shawls
- Yves Saint Laurent Wonderfully Whimsical Multi Color Abstract Silk ScarfBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent wonderfully whimsical multi color bold abstract silk crepe di chine scarf measures 34 inches by 34 inches, and accented with hand-rolled edges. Made in France.Category
1980s French Scarves
- Huge Micaela of Italy "Burgundy Floral" Woven ShawlLocated in New York, NYMicaela of Italy huge "Burgundy Floral" woven acetate shawl accented with fringe, measures 50 inches by 56 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1980s Italian Shawls
- Yves Saint Laurent Multi-Color Multi-Sized Striped Silk ScarfBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent wonderfully vivid multi-color multi-sized striped silk scarf measures 34 inches by 34 1/2 inches, with hand-rolled edges. Made in France.Category
1980s French Scarves
- Beautiful Tangerine, Fuchsia and Violet Silk Scarf/ShawlLocated in New York, NYThis wonderfully huge and beautiful tangerine, fuchsia and violet silk optional shawl or scarf with stitched edges, measures 70 inches by 24 inches. Made in Italy.Category
1990s Italian Shawls
- High Quality Hand Embroidered 100% Cashmere Shawl in Red & BlueBy Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBThe perfect Christmas gift for someone special - this shawl is unique and handmade. Verheyen London’s shawl is spun from the finest embroidered woven cashmere from Kashmir. The emb...Category
2010s Scarves
- High Quality Hand Embroidered 100% Cashmere Shawl in Red & BlueBy Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBThe perfect Christmas gift for someone special - this shawl is unique and handmade. Verheyen London’s shawl is spun from the finest embroidered woven cashmere from Kashmir. The emb...Category
2010s Scarves
- Atelier Versace by Gianni Silk Square Chair Printed ScarfBy Gianni Versace, Atelier VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a beautiful baroque Atelier Versace square silk scarf, designed by Gianni Versace. This scarf features a number of chairs surrounded by a floral baroque pattern. A small V...Category
1990s Italian Scarves
- HERMES 'Psyché' Lagre Scarf in Multicolored Silk.By HermèsLocated in Paris, FRHERMES large scarf model "Psyche" in silk. Color in shades of ocher, orange, fuchsia, brown. The roulotte is impeccable. In perfect condition. Arti...Category
2010s French Shawls
- High Quality Hand Embroidered 100% Cashmere Shawl in Red & BlueBy Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBThe perfect Christmas gift for someone special - this shawl is unique and handmade. Verheyen London’s shawl is spun from the finest embroidered woven cashmere from Kashmir. The emb...Category
2010s Scarves
- Verheyen London Hand Embroidered Sapphire Blue Shawl Scarf & Blue Mink FurBy Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Embroidered Sapphire Blue Shawl Scarf & Blue Mink Fur Verheyen London’s shawl is spun from the finest embroidered woven cashmere mix blend from Kashmir and finished...Category
2010s Greek Scarves