1993 Runway Gianni Versace Couture Floral Column Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 49.5 in (125.73 cm)Bust: 38 in (96.52 cm)Waist: 33 in (83.82 cm)Hip: 41 in (104.14 cm)
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU55022480682
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: London, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- 1960s Bramel Model Beaded Coral Red DressLocated in London, GB1970s Bramel Model kaftan style maxi dress in the most amazing coral red / orange. It has beautiful embellishment around the high scoop neckline and flared mid length sleeves; this i...Category
1960s British Formal Gowns
- 1910s Edwardian White Eyelet Work Wrap DressLocated in London, GBThis antique dress was created in the 1910s and is in superb condition without fault. The cotton remains brilliant white and completely unmarked, detailed with hand cut eyelet work a...Category
1910s British Tea Gowns
- 1960s Parikene Cotton Novelty Frame Print Shirtwaister DressLocated in London, GBThis lively cotton dress as designed in the 1960s by Parikene and probably made in France. It showcases a playful novelty print of folk art in elaborate frames and English country ga...Category
1960s French Casual Dresses
- 1940s Paisley Rayon Maxi Hostess DressLocated in London, GBDating back to the 1940s, this is an excellent example of a hostess dress from the era. With 80 years of age behind it, the wonderful cold rayon fabric is as vibrant as the day it wa...Category
1940s American Maxi Dresses
- 1950s Abstract Purple and Blue Cotton Shirt DressLocated in London, GBThis good size 1950s shirtwaister dress is labelled Penney's Brentwood and showcases many hallmarks of mid-century dress design. A simple cotton day-dress, it is printed with a vibrant abstract print in amethyst, cobalt blue and white on a pale grey background. Black bullrush-like forms are scattered across the pattern. Bold aubergine-purple plastic buttons are embossed with geometric shapes. The full, swirling skirt is detailed with piping in purple and finished with black arrow heads. The short sleeves have a dolman...Category
1950s American Casual Dresses
- 1960s White Linen Mod Dress with Large Floral AppliquesLocated in London, GBThe design and high end construction details of this original vintage white linen dress make this very special and unusual. It has a distinc...Category
1960s French Formal Wear
- VERSACE coat and dress black and white F/W 2011By VersaceLocated in Rubiera, REVERSACE FALL 2011 COLLECTION Black and white coordinated coat and dress Size IT 40 Made in Italy 1st fabric (black): 100% wool 2nd fabric (white): 68% polyester 22% polyurethane and...Category
2010s Italian Coats
- Miu Miu 1996 white dressBy Miu MiuLocated in CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL, ZH90's Miu Miu white button down dress. Very similar to look 36 of the 1996 runway collection. Which shows an open jacket. But this seems to be from a previous collection that Drew Bar...Category
1990s Day Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Postcard Post Letter Stamp Mesh JPG Tattoo Maxi Dress 1998By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier Jean's Yellow Postcard Post Letter Mesh JPG T-shirt Tattoo Vintage Calligraphy Stamp Dress 1998. Wonderful vintage dress from Jean Paul Gaultier! Postcard print with stamps and callygraphic wiriting on it, a Gaultier staple, from the 1998 collection! Blue greys on a light YELLOW background. NOTE: The background is light YELLOW (it was difficult to take photos about the shade). Very fine knit, typical JPG, form hugging and very flattering. EXCELLENT condition! Size: XS-L (Marked 38). Extremely stetchy fabric. Model’s size in the photos: XS. Bust: 32 cm Waist: 29 cm Lenth: 128 ABOUT JEAN PAUL GAULTIER Catapulting to fame in the 1990 s with a naughty, sexy, anti establishment attitude to fashion and a strong punk esthetic, Gaultier excels at bright, tongue in cheek prints and sculptural couture pieces. Reknown for elevating classic French sailor stripes to couture level and of course Madonna's cone shaped corsets on her Blonde Ambition tour in 1990, Gaultier remains very successful today, recently designing several Met Gala dresses.Category
1990s French Maxi Dresses
- F/W 1999 Gianni Versace Black Velvet Geometric Beaded Mini DressBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Concord, NCGianni Versace vintage black velvet mini dress from the Fall Winter 1999 collection. This unique dress features an open back and patter...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dresses
- extreme cashmere, maxi sweater dress in camelLocated in AMSTERDAM, NLextreme cashmere, maxi dress in camel. The item is new - unworn. • CONDITION: new - unworn • SIZE: one size • MEASUREMENTS: length 127 cm, width 56 cm, waist 56 cm, shoulder width...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Black Cris Cross Swiss Cotton Stretch Pique Slim DressBy Barbara TfankLocated in Los Angeles, CACriss Cross Black Swiss Stretch Pique Slim Dress fits like a glove. The dress is comfy and figure hugging. Great party dress perfect for dancing, cocktails or lunch parties. Super ea...Category
Early 2000s American Cocktail Dresses