1980S GIANNI VERSACE Printed Silk Playing Card Shirt Sz 42
About the Item
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 26 in (66.04 cm)Bust: 42 in (106.68 cm)Waist: 32 in (81.28 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
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 PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- Edwardian Black Silk Long Sleeve Pleated & Belted BlouseLocated in New York, NYEdwardian Black Silk Long Sleeve Pleated & Belted BlouseCategory
Early 1800s Blouses and Tops
- 1930S LANVIN Style Black Rayon Net & Silk Ribbon Sheer TopLocated in New York, NY1930S LANVIN Style Black Rayon Net & Silk Ribbon Sheer TopCategory
1930s Blouses and Tops
- Edwardian Black Silk & Lace Top With Metallic Embroidery, As-IsLocated in New York, NYEdwardian Black Silk & Lace Top With Metallic Embroidery, As-IsCategory
Early 1800s Blouses and Tops
- 1920S "THE OPERA" Black & Pink Silk Chiffon Floral Lame Embroidered Bow Neck OvLocated in New York, NY1920S "THE OPERA" Black & Pink Silk Chiffon Floral Lame Embroidered Bow Neck Oversized BlouseCategory
1920s Blouses and Tops
- 1980'S Navy Blue Beaded Silk Chiffon Oversized Long Sleeve Top With PearlsLocated in New York, NYZipper in center back, bodice lined in rayon, sheer sleeves. 1980'S Navy Blue Beaded Silk Chiffon Oversized Long Sleeve Top With PearlsCategory
1980s Blouses and Tops
- 1930S Black Silk Couture Art Deco Blouse With Medieval Inspired SleevesLocated in New York, NY1930S Black Silk Couture Art Deco Blouse With Medieval Inspired SleevesCategory
1930s Blouses and Tops
- Christian Dior Navy Blue Iconic Logo Tank Top Tank Top T-ShirtBy Christian DiorLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILDescription: Christian Dior navy blue logo tank top T-Shirt.Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tank Tops
- Extremely Rare Chanel CC Logo Cropped T-shirt Black 1996By Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, ChanelLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILIconic Chanel logo cropped t-shirt featuring CC logos in black. From 1996 Spring collection, designed by Karl Lagerfeld. This is a well-known piece among Chanel collectors.Category
1990s French T-Shirts
- GUCCI RTW FW 2009 silk lurex ShirtBy GucciLocated in Genève, CHFabulous silk metallic shirt from Gucci Fall 2009 RTW Collection designed by Frida Giannini -Metallic fabric double effect in grey and purple -Closed ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Chemises
- 1980s Jack Taylor sequined and beaded silk topLocated in Milano, IT1980s Jack Taylor sequined and beaded silk top, batwing sleeve, inner lining, elastic bottom. Black with multicolor paillettes. Size: M Measures: Length...Category
1980s American Blouses and Tops
- North Beach Pink Leather BodysuitBy North Beach LeatherLocated in Los Angeles, CAIf an exclamation point were an outfit - it'd be this North Beach 1990’s Pink Leather Bodysuit. This one of a kind piece is versatile and made for any...Category
1990s Shirts
- 1980s Floral Embroidered Velour BlouseLocated in Scottsdale, AZDress up your outfit with this amazing 1980s mini dress or blouse! Made of black velour, this piece features a v-neckline, an asymmetrical hem, flowy...Category
1980s Unknown Blouses and Tops