Versace Baroque Tie

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.

Whether accompanying a simple black dress or a straightforward pantsuit, vintage and designer accessories add personality and can transform an outfit into a fashion statement. Accessorizing is a means of expressing oneself, from colorful hats to timeless handbags.

A finely made scarf can pack a punch on its own, but accompanying a variety of other clothing, it can fuse a look or offer a flash of color. The perfect shoes can enhance an outfit, and different types of shoes can even change how you feel. Heels can provide a feeling of empowerment and confidence, while loafers and flats can offer a comfortable vibe. Sandals can be casual or elegant, able to dress up or down a range of attire.

Purses and handbags have been around in various forms since the days of hunter-gatherers using pouches to carry food, tools and other items. Bag design evolved notably during the Middle Ages. The shoulder bags and other bags ferried on today’s shoulders continue to be utilitarian while serving as status symbols. Chic design and exceptional quality contribute to beautifully constructed statement purses.

Men and women have worn hats throughout history. While they started as simply protection from the sun, they evolved into stylish accessories. Vintage hats never go out of style and add an exciting detail to an ensemble. The first boutique established by legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel drew the attention of the Parisian fashion elite who popularized her wide-brimmed Chanel Modes hats.

Sunglasses were popularized in the 1920s by Hollywood stars attempting to remain incognito in public. They endure as a fashion-forward accessory — a pair of vintage Ray-Ban sunglasses, for example, can top off a look in any season and emanate an air of sophistication.

From belts and neckties to cloche hats and berets, browse an extensive selection of vintage and designer accessories on 1stDibs to complement any wardrobe.