S/S 1992 Gianni Versace Runway Rhinestone Gold Shell Jewel Chain Crossbody Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Minor wear throughout. Minor scratches to hardware.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388220750382
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: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- S/S 1992 Gianni Versace Leopard Print Shoulder Bag Gold Medusa MedallionBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a leopard print Medusa medallion accented shoulder bag designed by Gianni Versace. This print debut on the Spring/Summer 1992 runway and features a gold-toned metal zipper...Category
1990s Italian Tote Bags
- 1960s Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Rattan Woven Wicker Shell Accordion BagBy Saint Laurent, Yves Saint LaurentLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a rare woven rattan crossbody accordion bag designed by Yves Saint Laurent for his first ready-to-wear line Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. The introduction of YSL's new line was a radical shift in the fashion industry, placing an emphasis on couture-level craftsmanship and attention to detail to ready-to-wear. A natural shell adorns the front of this bag, making it the perfect beach...Category
1960s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- S/S 2000 Gucci by Tom Ford Cream Ostrich Chain Flap Shoulder BagBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a gorgeous ostrich leather Gucci bag with a chainlink handle, designed by Tom Ford. This bag is from the Spring/Summer 2000 collection is constructed almost entirely of os...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Bags and Minaudières
- F/W 1996 Gianni Versace Cherry Red Croc Embossed Medusa Shoulder BagBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a cherry red croc-embossed Gianni Versace shoulder bag featuring gold-toned Medusa accents at the front closure and strap connections. ...Category
1990s Italian Shoulder Bags
- F/W 1997 Gucci by Tom Ford Vintage Brown Shoulder Bag Square 'G'By Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a chocolate brown leather Gucci flap shoulder bag designed by Tom Ford for the Fall/Winter 1997 collection. The closure is a hinged ...Category
1990s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- 2004 Dolce & Gabbana Salmon Tone Snakeskin Chain Ring Small Shoulder BagBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in West Hollywood, CAFrom 2004, this fabulous salmon pink python-skin Dolce & Gabbana shoulder bag has been constructed entirely of light pink python skin. This flap bag features gold-tone hardware with ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shoulder Bags
- Goyard Black Bellechasse Biaude PM BagBy GoyardLocated in London, GBA lovely Bellechasse Biaude PM handbag by Goyard from the Bellechasse Biaude collection. The exterior is crafted in black Decize Taurillon leather & Cervon calfskin leather with pall...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Hermès Herbag Zip Retourne 31 Noir Toile Miltaire/Vache Hunter GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA chic Hermes Herbag Zip 31 handbag. The exterior of this Herbag features a top handle with a crossbody strap in Noir Vache Hunter leather on the top section whereas the body of the ...Category
2010s Swiss Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Yellow Quilted Lambskin Hula Hoop Bag MediumBy ChanelLocated in New York, NYInspired by architectural modernism, Karl Lagerfeld added a geometric twist to the classic Half Flap silhouette, creating the iconic Hula Hoop Bag. Appearing on Chanel's Spring 2013 ...Category
2010s French Hobo Bags
- Chanel 1991 Vintage Black Caviar Triple CC Gold Shoulder Shopping ToteBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLChanel 1991 Vintage Black Caviar Triple CC Gold Shoulder Shopping Tote Year: 1991 {33 Years Vintage} Gold hardware Classic interwoven chain strap Three CC gold logos on either si...Category
1990s Italian Structured Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Classic Double Flap Bag Quilted Caviar NavyBy ChanelLocated in Palm Beach, FLCHANEL Caviar Quilted Medium Double Flap Wallet in Navy. This classic flap bag is made of navy blue caviar leather that has been diamond q...Category
2010s French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Gianni Versace Couture Miami Large Bag Vintage Beach Print 1993By Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Concord, NCGianni Versace Miami large silk shoulder bag from 1993 with Medusa Medallions, South Beach Miami print of tropical vintage ocean front themes can be seen throughout with pop art Miami...Category
1990s Italian Shoulder Bags