Who was the real founder of Versace?

The real founder of Versace was Gianni Versace. He was born in Calabria, Italy, in 1948. His mother was a successful dressmaker who employed more than 40 seamstresses. As a child, Gianni marveled at her workshop, which would become a university of sorts, where he learned the exceptional construction techniques that would be the foundation of his work. In 1972, at the age of 25, he moved to Milan to work in fashion. He launched his first collection and label in 1978, with his older brother Santo managing the business concerns. Soon, his sister Donatella joined the family venture, where she has had a creative role and managed enormously popular ready-to-wear lines such as Versus. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Versace apparel and accessories.

Versace Vintage Purse

Gianni Versace 1990 Bag

Gold Versace Handbags

Versace Medallion

Versace Rare

Recent Sales

Versace Jeans Couture black lace purse. 1990's

Unavailable

H 6.7 in W 5.91 in D 0.79 in

Versace Jeans Couture black lace purse. 1990's

By Gianni Versace, Versace

Located in Bilbao, ES

Versace Jeans Couture cute and easy to wear little black purse.

Category

1990s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Gianni Versace Couture Turquoise Leather Gold Medusa Chain Purse bag

Unavailable

Gianni Versace Couture Turquoise Leather Gold Medusa Chain Purse bag

By Gianni Versace Couture, Gianni Versace

Located in Berlin, DE

Gianni Versace Couture bright turquoise with golden hardwear chain purse from circa 1990s.

Category

1980s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

MINT. Vintage Gianni Versace navy leather clutch shoulder purse with snake skin

Unavailable

H 5.7 in W 8.6 in D 2 in

MINT. Vintage Gianni Versace navy leather clutch shoulder purse with snake skin

By Gianni Versace

Located in Kashiwa, Chiba

Introducing another masterpiece jewel purse from Gianni Versace back in the early 90's.

Category

1990s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Gianni Versace Mini Leather Shoulder Bag

By Gianni Versace

Located in Athens, Agia Paraskevi

Gianni Versace Mini Leather Shoulder Bag. Length 18cm, height 17cm, width 7cm

Category

1990s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Versace Gold Medusa Medallion Chain Tote 870366 Black Nylon Shoulder Bag

Unavailable

H 7.87 in W 3.54 in L 11.8 in

Versace Gold Medusa Medallion Chain Tote 870366 Black Nylon Shoulder Bag

By Versace

Located in Forest Hills, NY

Width (inch) : 11.8 inch(approx) Width (cm) : 30 cm(approx) Height (inch) : 7.87 inch(approx) Height (cm) : 20 cm(approx) Depth (inch) : 3.54 inch(approx) Depth (cm) : 9 cm(approx) S...

Category

20th Century Unknown Versace Vintage Purse

Gianni Versace Multicolored Large Tote, c. 90's

Unavailable

Gianni Versace Multicolored Large Tote, c. 90's

By Gianni Versace

Located in Los Angeles, CA

-Gianni Versace Tote Bag -Gold hardware with Versace logo and Greek key pattern -Multicolored nylon-like fabric with vertical V pattern -Vegan leather, perfect for the beach -Versac...

Category

1990s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Unavailable

Vintage Gianni Versace pink calf leather and genuine snakeskin handbag

By Gianni Versace

Located in Kashiwa, Chiba

Vintage Gianni Versace pink calf leather and genuine snakeskin handbag with golden and black balls handles. This is the vintage GIANNI VERSACE pink leather and snakeskin combinati...

Category

1990s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Vintage Gianni Versace Black Crocodile Embossed Leather Small Shoulder Bag

Unavailable

H 6.375 in W 2.75 in L 9.25 in

Vintage Gianni Versace Black Crocodile Embossed Leather Small Shoulder Bag

By Gianni Versace

Located in Chicago, IL

Comes with dust bag. Small shoulder bag. Black crocodile embossed leather with gold tone hardware. Two long shoulder straps. Top zip closure. Metal Medusa logo on exterior at upper f...

Category

Late 20th Century Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Vintage Gianni Versace ostrich-embossed light blue leather wallet with sunburst

Unavailable

Vintage Gianni Versace ostrich-embossed light blue leather wallet with sunburst

By Gianni Versace

Located in Kashiwa, Chiba

Coin purse, card,bill case. Best gift Here is another vintage piece from Gianni Versace, ostrich-embossed light blue leather wallet that can hold lots of bills, coins, and cards....

Category

1990s Versace Vintage Purse

Sold

Gianni Versace Couture Iconic Leopard Medusa Purse

By Gianni Versace

Located in Toronto, ON

Gianni Versace Couture iconic leopard pattern fabric purse with large gold medusa head.

Category

1990s Versace Vintage Purse

Versace Leather Medusa Coin Purse, Italy 1993.

Sold

Sold

$899

$4,275

Size: 35

Hermes Vintage Trim Bag Rare Amazonia / Leather 35 Very Chic

By Hermès

Located in Miami, FL

Guaranteed authentic rare Amazonia and brown leather Trim bag. Palladium hardware. Top zipper closure. Interior leather slot pocket. Lined in toile. Comes with Amazonia care balm....

Category

Early 2000s French Versace Vintage Purse

$1,761

H 11.82 in D 5.91 in L 13.39 in

Versace White Leather Palazzo Empire Bag

By Versace

Located in Gazzaniga (BG), IT

Beautiful Versace Palazzo Empire bag Leather White color Decorative "Medusa" Two handles Can be carried crossbody (2 different available) Internal zip pocket, additional pocket and ...

Category

Early 2000s Italian Versace Vintage Purse

Chanel Silver Metallic Quilted Lambskin Shoulder Bag

$2,616Sale Price|65% Off

$1,264Sale Price / item|20% Off

W 0.11 in L 16 in

Marquise Ruby Charm Chain Necklace Girlfriend Gift in Solid 18k Yellow Gold

By VR Jewels

Located in New York, NY

Marquise Ruby Charm Chain Necklace Girlfriend Gift in 18K Gold studded with marquise cut ruby. This stunning piece of jewelry instantly elevates a casual look or dressy outfit. Ruby...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Modernist Versace Vintage Purse

Materials

Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold

$1,202

L 50.01 in

Hippy Style Gold Brocade Robe Coat with Embroidery and Pockets

Located in Amsterdam, NL

Unique hand made one- off a kind vintage colorful robe manteau. We offer more excluisive items, view our frontstore Embroidered with sequins and vintage Indian pieces gold brocade...

Category

20th Century Versace Vintage Purse

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Versace Vintage Purse For Sale on 1stDibs

You are likely to find exactly the vintage or contemporary versace vintage purse you’re looking for on 1stDibs, as there is a broad range for sale. Many people prefer Black, but fashion is all about individuality — you can find Gray, Brown and more options on these pages. If you’re looking for a versace vintage purse from a specific time period, our collection is diverse and broad-ranging, and you’ll find at least one that dates back to the 20th Century while another version may have been produced as recently as the 21st Century. Finding an appealing accessory such as this — no matter the origin — is easy, but Versace, Gianni Versace and Donatella Versace each produced a popular version that is worth a look. When shopping for these accessories, you’ll find that there are less available pieces for men or unisex today than there are for women.

How Much is a Versace Vintage Purse?

The price for a versace vintage purse starts at $235 and tops out at $6,182, and on average, selling for $685.

Gianni Versace for sale on 1stDibs

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.

Finding the Right Handbags-purses-bags for You

An integral part of fashion, handbags and purses have been indispensable accessories ever since we began to carry around personal items. Level of craftsmanship, style and shape matters — from coin purses in ancient Greece to early 20th-century opera bags and onward, handbags have evolved considerably over the years to meet our needs and desires, whether or not you happen to be prioritizing functionality over a flashy exterior.

Once, a single “It” handbag ruled each fashion season. No more. Today, lovers of vintage handbags are savvier and have a wider range of shopping options. Nevertheless, classics created by the likes of Louis Vuitton, Dior and Balenciaga still rule.

“It is not a fashion bag — it is a statement bag,” says Mightychic's Debra Kent of Hermès's widely beloved accessories. “When you carry an iconic Hermès bag — Birkin, Kelly, Constance — no one knows how long you have been into this culture or if you are a newbie. Your status is validated immediately.”

First released in 1997, Fendi's Baguette rose to fame along with Carrie Bradshaw, the Sex and the City character portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Recently, the design has seen such a resurgence in popularity that Fendi has reissued it.

They are part of design history, so owning a handbag has meaning. As New York–based fashion historian Sarah C. Byrd says, “You have made the choice to invest in this piece because you understand the value of it in the past and in the future to come.”

From a 1980s Chanel black leather quilted mini buckle bag to the rare Hermès Birkin 30cm Himalayan with diamond hardware to a range of 19th-century bags, find a rich variety of vintage and designer handbags and purses spanning numerous brands on 1stDibs — seasonal “It” designation no longer needed.

Questions About Gianni Versace

Who was the real founder of Versace?
1 Answer
1stDibs ExpertOctober 15, 2024
The real founder of Versace was Gianni Versace. He was born in Calabria, Italy, in 1948. His mother was a successful dressmaker who employed more than 40 seamstresses. As a child, Gianni marveled at her workshop, which would become a university of sorts, where he learned the exceptional construction techniques that would be the foundation of his work. In 1972, at the age of 25, he moved to Milan to work in fashion. He launched his first collection and label in 1978, with his older brother Santo managing the business concerns. Soon, his sister Donatella joined the family venture, where she has had a creative role and managed enormously popular ready-to-wear lines such as Versus. On 1stDibs, find a collection of Versace apparel and accessories.