1980s Gianni Versace Primary Red Wool Coat w Angular Trapunto Stitching Details
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 8 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Gresham, OR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU503469201
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: Gresham, OR
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- 1940s Chinese Red Dragon Robe 3 PiecesLocated in Gresham, ORAn exceptional example of Chinese textile in classic Dragon Robe style. All silk embroidery with heavy stitching in gold thread and blue silk thread. ...Category
1940s Chinese Opera Coats
- 1960 Norman Norell Silk Satin Abstract Polka Dot Maxi Opera CoatBy Norman NorellLocated in Gresham, OR1960s Norman Norell silk satin opera coat/maxi coat with abstract polka-dot print and flocked velvet dots scattered throughout pattern. Fully lined in...Category
1960s American Opera Coats
- Torso Creations Shocking Pink & Baby Blue Silk Satin Bow Evening StoleBy Torso CreationsLocated in Gresham, ORTorso Creations shocking pink silk and baby blue silk satin adjustable bow evening stole. Bow slides through satin loops to secure. Gentlemen Prefer Blo...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Stoles
- Torso Creations Crimson Red Silk Chiffon Cape w Lush Ruffles & Silk FoulardBy Torso CreationsLocated in Gresham, ORTorso Creations Crimson Red Silk Chiffon Cape w Lush Ruffles & Silk Foulard Tie. Inspired by 1920s Art-Deco chic, these layered asymmetrical ruffles ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Capes
- 1960s Emilio Pucci Cotton Velveteen Poncho in Signature Pucci Print.By Emilio PucciLocated in Gresham, ORA fabulous 1960s Emilio Pucci cotton velveteen poncho in Pucci's signature print style. Snap closures at side.Category
1960s Italian Ponchos
- Missoni Spring/Summer Rayon & Cotton Knit Cover-Up in Classic Missoni Zig-ZagBy MissoniLocated in Gresham, ORMissoni Spring/Summer Rayon & Cotton Knit Cover-Up in Classic Missoni Zig-Zag: This classic Missoni lightweight swimsuit cover-up is asymmetrical in shape and the palette is in char...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Ponchos
- 1980s Bernard Perris Couture Silk Crepe CapeBy Bernard Perris ParisLocated in Scottsdale, AZMake A Statement With This Amazing Piece! Circa late 1980s, this incredible Bernard Perris vibrant red pleated silk crepe cape features an extravagant Elizabethan high standing colla...Category
1980s French Coats and Outerwear
- Verheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 12By Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 12 The Edward Leather Coat created by Verheyen London is a romantic design inspired by the 1970s and Edward...Category
2010s British Coats
- Verheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 10By Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 10 The Edward Leather Coat created by Verheyen London is a romantic design inspired by the 1970s and Edward...Category
2010s British Coats
- Verheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 16By Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 16 The Edward Leather Coat created by Verheyen London is a romantic design inspired by the 1970s and Edward...Category
2010s British Coats
- 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 Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 10By Verheyen LondonLocated in London, GBVerheyen London Edward Leather Coat with Faux Fur Collar in Red - Size uk 10 The Edward Leather Coat created by Verheyen London is a romanti...Category
2010s British Coats