Versace LIMITED EDITION $5000 USD Black Crystal Mini Party Embellished Dress
By Versace
Located in Melbourne, VIC
Be the star of any party in Versace's Embellished Crystal Dress. Covered in black crystals, this mini dress shimmers like a disco ball.
Versace LIMITED EDITION $5000 USD Black Crystal Mini Party Embellished Dress
By Versace
Located in Melbourne, VIC
Be the star of any party in Versace's Embellished Crystal Dress. Covered in black crystals, this mini dress shimmers like a disco ball.
1990s Versace Couture Black Party Dress w/Medusa Button Motif at Straps
By Versace, Gianni Versace Couture
Located in Studio City, CA
1990's Versace couture label black mini dress with flounced skirt, boning at the bodice interior and shoulder straps featuring decorative "Medusa" motif buttons. In very good conditi...
new VERSACE 2020 black strapless corseted fitted mini party dress IT40 S
By Donatella Versace, Versace
Located in Hong Kong, NT
new VERSACE 2020 black strapless corseted fitted mini party dress IT40 S Reference: TGAS/C01786 Brand: Versace Designer: Donatella Versace Model: A88677 A219045 A1008 Collection: 202...
VERSACE 2020 black strapless corseted fitted mini party dress IT40 S
By Donatella Versace, Versace
Located in Hong Kong, NT
VERSACE 2020 black strapless corseted fitted mini party dress IT40 S Reference: TGAS/C01786 Brand: Versace Designer: Donatella Versace Model: A88677 A219045 A1008 Collection: 2020 Ma...
GIANNI VERSACE VINTAGE 1996 white crepe sheer mesh illusion party dress IT40 S
By Versace
Located in Hong Kong, NT
GIANNI VERSACE VINTAGE 1996 white crepe sheer mesh illusion party dress IT40 S GIANNI VERSACE FROM THE 1996 COLLECTION Crepe upper.
Versace Couture Lace and Rhinestone Party Dress
By Versace
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Dreamy mini dress from Versace shimmers like a starry night! Three different fabrics are layered to achieve the final look, beginning with a rhinestone studded crepe chiffon, overlay...
Gianni Versace Couture Vintage Backless Party Dress, 1990s
By Gianni Versace Couture, Versace
Located in Doncaster, South Yorkshire
A beautiful vintage Gianni Versace dress from the 90s in an abstract printed rayon jersey fabric with a sexy, deep cut backless design that highlights the lower back and adds glamour...
Black Beaded Cardigan
Located in Alford, MA
Black cardigan from the 1950s-'60s embellished with black beads and sequins. Sweater composition is lambswool, angora and nylon and has tiny spherical buttons. Lined. Retailed by Gim...
SADIE NEMSER c.1920’s Art Deco Silk Beaded Cubist Flapper Couture Dress
By SADIE NEMSER
Located in Thiensville, WI
SADIE NEMSER c.1920’s Art Deco Silk Beaded Embroidered Cubist Flapper Couture Dress Circa: 1920’s Label(s): Nemser Original Model Style: Drop waist dress Color(s): Shades of navy ...
Herbert Levine Red Stilettos
By Herbert Levine
Located in New York, NY
Glamorous Herbert Levine Red Calf Stilettos decorated with a black "berry" and red ties. Retailed at Bonwit Teller, 1950's USA. 6.5AA, 2.75" widest across front. Very narrow.
$995Sale Price|58% Off
Size: 36.5
Gucci 90th Anniversary Ad Runway Python Skakeskin Pump Heels Sz 36.5 $2425
By Gucci
Located in Conroe, TX
Gucci Worn One Time Minor Markings to Soles Only Gucci's 90th anniversary Fall Runway show, $2425 * Python Heels * Size: 36.5 * Purple & Orange Snakeskin Python * Adjustable A...
Jean Paul Gaultier Transformable Peplum Jacket
By Jean Paul Gaultier
Located in New York, NY
Jean Paul Gaultier Transformable Black Faille Moire Peplum Jacket from the 1990's. Gaultier's Haute Couture training is evident in this fitted "Bar" style peplum jacket with pointed ...
Richard Tyler Couture Autumn Floral Printed Silk Chiffon Dress
By Richard Tyler Couture, Richard Tyler
Located in New Hope, PA
Richard Tyler has chosen an interesting micro pleated autumnal silk chiffon for this chic cocktail dress. This gives the dress enough room to just slip on over your head. It has a ro...
Lillie Rubin New 1950s Silk Damask Dress and Mink Collar Coat Set
By Lillie Rubin
Located in Water Mill, NY
A rare, new 1950s dress and coat set from Lillie Rubin in a black silk damask flower pattern. The dress is semi fitted with a matching belt, a bateau neckline, and a straight skirt. ...
$1,036Sale Price|20% Off
Size: Medium
Sylvia Ann 1970s Rose Print Pink Ivory Chiffon Vintage 70s Maxi Dress Gown
By SYLVIA ANN
Located in San Diego, CA
Chic 1970s SYLVIA ANN pink, ivory and green chiffon ruffled maxi dress / gown! Features rose bouquets in various sizes throughout. Flutter sleeves, with a flowy layer of chiffon drap...
2000S ATELIER VERSACE GIANNI Black Silk Chiffon Crystal Beaded and Metal Mesh
By Atelier Versace
Located in New York, NY
This dress is tagged size 42, however the fit is very small. We recommend size 2 or smaller. 2000S ATELIER VERSACE GIANNI Black Silk Chiffon Haute Couture Crystal Beaded Silk chiffo...
New Roberto Cavalli F/W 2006 Brown Gold-Leafing Velvet Blazer Jacket 42 44 / 6 8
By Roberto Cavalli
Located in Montgomery, TX
New Roberto Cavalli Brown Metallic Gold-Leafing Velvet Evening Blazer F/W 2006 Collection Designer sizes available 42 and 44 - US 6 and 8 Unique Cavalli Metallic Gold-Leafing Design ...
Couture c.1920’s Champagne Silk Floral Glass Beaded Rhinestone Flapper Dress
Located in Thiensville, WI
COUTURE c.1920’s One-of-a-kind Champagne Silk Floral Glass Beaded Rhinestone Flapper Dress Circa: 1920’s Style: Flapper Dress Color(s): Champagne Lined: No Unmarked Fabric Conten...
CHLOE white leather MILK SALLY MEDIUM Shoulder Bag
By Chloé
Located in Zürich, CH
Chloé 'Sally Medium' shoulder bag in Milk (cream) grained calfskin featuring gold-tone hardware. Opens with a turn lock and has highlighted borders in gold-tone hardware. Intertwined...
Alexander McQueen mustard suede BIKER Jacket 38
By Alexander McQueen
Located in Zürich, CH
Alexander McQueen suede biker jacket in mustard suede with a notch collar and an attached belt on the back. Has two vertical and two asymmentrical pockets with a silver tone zipper o...
Gianni Versace Sculptural Dress 1990s
By Gianni Versace
Located in Water Mill, NY
A stunning red wool dress by Gianni Versace. It has great lines with square cut armholes, a fitted bodice and fabulous flared skirt with the back a few inches longer and fuller than ...
Issey Miyake black nylon oversized parachute coat, fw 1987
By Issey Miyake
Located in London, GB
Issey Miyake; Black nylon oversized parachute coat with batwing sleeves and two front pockets Fall-Winter 1987
Vivienne Westwood red wool and gold 'PAGAN KISS' beret, ss 1988
By Vivienne Westwood
Located in London, GB
Rare Vivienne Westwood red wool beret with gold leaf 'PAGAN KISS' and signature Orb logo. Made for the 'Choice' tour with Sara Stockbridge in 1988. Pagan I, Spring-Summer 1988
Subversive, maximalist and unabashedly seductive, Gianni Versace’s (1946–97) designs infused high fashion with an entirely new ethos. “I don’t believe in good taste,” the legendary Italian couturier once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life. Today, vintage Versace clothing, handbags and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
More than any designer before him, Versace mined celebrity, music and Pop art for inspiration. In fact, 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! '90” — the moment when the two worlds of fashion and pop culture became one, changing both forever.
Versace was born in Reggio di 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, Versace 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. This 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 Versace evening dresses, handbags, day dresses, accessories and more on 1stDibs.
With entire museum exhibitions dedicated to examining fashion designers and their creations, we’re finally recognizing that costuming is art. Evening dresses over time have conveyed specific statements about social class, position and beliefs. Fashion is a powerful means of self-expression, and sophisticated vintage evening dresses and gowns by our favorite couturier play no small role in making us feel wonderful but, perhaps more importantly, making us feel like ourselves.
In the 16th century, dresses and gowns were so important that England's Queen Elizabeth I defined rules about what dresses women could wear — guidance included long skirts and fitted bodices. Forward-thinking designers have responded to this history.
Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel reimagined traditionally masculine garments for feminine shapes, and her elegant evening dresses and gowns promoted comfort and grace in women’s wear that had been dominated in the previous century by layers of fabric. Christian Dior's gowns celebrated luxury and femininity in the late 1940s — and gave to women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of the war. French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent introduced innovative and highly coveted dress designs in the 1960s while at the same time challenging sexist stereotypes about which members of society could wear tuxedos.
Works by unconventional British designer John Galliano — featured in houses like Givenchy and Dior — redefined limits that dressmakers faced in terms of material, construction and vision during the late 20th century. From his embroidered absinthe-green Oscars gown for actress Nicole Kidman to the iconic sleeveless Dior newspaper dress that Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw made famous, Galliano’s intricate and multifaceted work is reliably collectible and newsworthy
Today’s designers target an increasingly broad audience with their boundary-crossing work, and their tendency to play off of each other’s ideas means that every walk down the runway is also a walk through an entire history of fashion design and dress craftsmanship.
Whether you gravitate toward backless maxi dresses or silk charmeuse gowns by Alexander McQueen or embellished, ruffled floral-print designs by Chloe or Versace, there is an extraordinary collection of vintage and designer evening dresses and gowns waiting for you on 1stDibs.