1980s Versace couture cashmere coat
View Similar Items
1980s Versace couture cashmere coat
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU131207284743
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.
- Bergdorf Goodman Black Cashmere Over Coat Deep Center Hem VentBy Bergdorf GoodmanLocated in West Palm Beach, FLBergdorf Goodman black cashmere overcoat from the 1990s. A statement making coat in luxurious black cashmere. Single breasted coat has notched lapels...Category
1990s American Overcoats
- Issey Miyake Pleats Please Black & Grey Printed Open Front Lapel Collar CoatBy Issey MiyakeLocated in West Palm Beach, FLIssey Miyake Pleats Please black & grey printed design drop shoulder, long sleeve, open front coat with turn back collar/lapels. Great design, perf...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Coats
- Giorgio Armani Camel Hair Classic Double Breasted Coat 1990sLocated in West Palm Beach, FLGiorgio Armani camel hair classic double breasted coat from the 1990s. A classic coat with sleek Italian design influences. The coat features notched lapels, double breasted front wi...Category
1990s Coats
- Giorgio Armani Classico Navy Blue Cashmere Raglan Sleeve Belted Over CoatBy Giorgio ArmaniLocated in West Palm Beach, FLGiorgio Armani Classico, Black Label, navy blue cashmere over coat. Dark navy cashmere coat with tab & adjustable button cuffs, long raglan sleeves. The coat closes at the front with...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Coats
- Hermes Guepards GM Silk Mousseline Chiffon Shawl Designed by Robert Dallet 2007By Robert Dallet, HermèsLocated in West Palm Beach, FLHermes Guepards silk Mousseline/Chiffon GM Shawl Scarf 53" x 53" designed by Robert Dallet 2007. This fabulous shawl depicts golden spotted cheetahs ra...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shawls
- Ralph Lauren Women's Black Fine Wool & Silk Cutaway Evening Tail Coat 8By Ralph LaurenLocated in West Palm Beach, FLRalph Lauren women's 100% fine black wool cutaway evening tail coat, fully lined in 100% silk, marked size 8. This beautiful coat is well constructed and fully lined in black silk. I...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Tailcoats
- Vintage Rare Pierre Cardin Boutique Navy Blue Trench CoatBy Pierre CardinLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLBeautiful vintage circa 1980 Pierre Cardin Boutique classic trench coat. Made in France. Navy blue corduroy features the traditional storm flap ...Category
1980s French Trench Coats
- SAINT LAURENT By HEDI SLIMANE F/W 2015 Runway CoatBy Hedi Slimane for Yves Saint Laurent, Saint LaurentLocated in Berlin, BESAINT LAURENT by HEDI SLIMANE Rare F/W 2015 Runway Coat With Mink Collar Brand: Saint Laurent Designer: Hedi Slimane Collection / Year: F/W 2015 Fabric: Wool / Mink Color: Black Siz...Category
2010s French Coats
- Vintage GUY LAROCHE 80s Ski Hooded PARKA Gray Red Jacket Down Feather Coat XLBy Guy LarocheLocated in Asheville, NCGuy Laroche, 80's Designer Vintage, Paris/New York, Made in Taiwan, Polyester/Cotton Shell, Down, Feathers and Polyester Filler, Dual Metal Zipper, Button and Drawstring Tie Closures...Category
1980s Taiwanese Anoraks and Parkas
- Vintage 1960's Black Beaded and Rhinestone Floral Evening CapeLocated in Cheltenham, GBThis divine 1960's black shoulder cape, decorated with black sequins and beads, and accented by large claw set iridescent rhinestones, in a trailing floral pattern, is just the perfe...Category
1960s European Capes
- 1920'S Gold Lamé Bead Embellished Jacket UK 10 US 6Located in Cheltenham, GBFull of opulent original details, this beautiful 1920's embellished jacket on a swirling gold lamé base is just the piece to add a touch of elegance to your wardrobe. The open nec...Category
1920s Coats
- Vintage 1960's Yves Saint Laurent Wool Coat UK 8 US 4By Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Cheltenham, GBA rare and unique piece to behold, this original vintage 1960's Yves Saint Laurent Coat, Rendered in a cream wool and lined in silk, is just the piece to add to your couture collecti...Category
1960s Coats