1994 GIANNI VERSACE COUTURE silver Oroton chainmail top and skirt
View Similar Items
1994 GIANNI VERSACE COUTURE silver Oroton chainmail top and skirt
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: IT 40 (NA)Bust: 32 in (81.28 cm)Waist: 25 in (63.5 cm)Hip: 37 in (93.98 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:oroton chainmail
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Wear is consistent with age and use; there is light discoloration to lining.
- Seller Location:San Fransisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU81559662
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.
- 1960's Cristóbal Balenciaga haute couture black brocade dress and jacketBy BalenciagaLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare jet black floral brocade dress and matching jacket from Cristobal Balenciaga dating to the early 1960's. Ensemble best fits a small US s...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- 1980's VALENTINO black wool coat and matching skirt with velvet detailBy ValentinoLocated in San Fransisco, CABlack wool coat and matching skirt with velvet detail designed by Valentino dating to the 1980's. Jacket is labeled an 8 and skirt has no size label. Coat measure approximately: shou...Category
1980s Italian Dress and Coat Ensembles
- 1997 COMME DES GARCONS navy blue wool ensemble with sheer panelsBy Comme des GarçonsLocated in San Fransisco, CANavy blue shell, skirt and jacket with sheer inserts designed by Rei Kawakubo for Comme Des Garcons as seen on the runway for fall of 1997. Jacket and shell are labeled a size 'M' an...Category
1990s Japanese Dress and Coat Ensembles
- 1990's ISSEY MIYAKE iridescent burgundy draped collar suitBy Issey MiyakeLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery unique iridescent burgundy suit with dramatic draped collar from Issey Miyake dating to the 1990's. Size M. Approximate measurements for jacket: sho...Category
Late 20th Century Japanese Trouser Pant Suits
- 1998 COMME DES GARCONS 'FUSION' layered jacket and runway skirtBy Comme des Garçons, Rei KawakuboLocated in San Fransisco, CABlack, grey and off-white layered jacket and matching skirt designed by Rei Kawakubo for Comme Des Garcons dating to fall 1998 as seen at the 'Fusion' runway show. "This was a colle...Category
1990s Japanese Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- 2001 YOHJI YAMAMOTO asymmetrical silk RUNWAY jacket and skirtBy Yohji YamamotoLocated in San Fransisco, CAJet-black, asymmetrical, silk jacket and skirt from Yohji Yamamoto exactly as seen on the runway for fall of 2000. Size '1'. Fits a US 2. Approximate measurements: Jacket: bust 32", ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Skirt Suits
- Dolce & Gabbana black 3-piece ensemble with ostrich feathers, A/W 1995By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB- Silk chiffon loose fitted blouse with ostrich feather trim on collar and cuffs (IT42-FR-38-UK10) - Black satin bra with lace trim and adjustable straps...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Yves Saint Laurent black silk off-shoulder blouse and maxi skirt set, fw 2001By Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint LaurentLocated in London, GB▪ Yves Saint Laurent black silk blouse and skirt evening set ▪ Designed by Tom Ford ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Fall-Winter 2001 ▪ Off-shoulder peasant blouse ▪ Low-rise maxi ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Gianni Versace multicoloured velvet mini dress and leggings set, fw 1992By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace multicoloured velvet mini dress and leggings set ▪ All over abstract print in blue, purple, pink, red and gold ▪ Turtle neck m...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vivienne Westwood rope print knitted cowl-neck top and drape skirt set, ss 1998By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood rayon-knit top and skirt 2-piece set ▪ Allover beige rope print ▪ Cowl-neck top ▪ Draped knee-length skirt with elasticated waistband ▪ Size Medium ▪ 100% Rayo...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana tiger print and denim 3-piece skirt suit, fw 1999By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GB▪ Dolce & Gabbana 3-piece skirt suit ▪ Fitted jacket in black denim with red contrast topstitch ▪ Bra-top with open back and tiger-print front with sequins ▪ Low-rise maxi skirt w...Category
1990s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Gianni Versace navy blue open-knit bodycon dress and cardigan set, fw 1993By Gianni VersaceLocated in London, GB▪ Gianni Versace navy blue open-knit dress and cardigan 2 piece set ▪ Sleeveless bodycon maxi dress with lining ▪ Long-sleeve full-length cardigan ▪ Gold Medusa buttons ▪ Can be wo...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns