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.
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1990's Gianni Versace ball bracelet with cut out detailing
By Gianni Versace
Located in Nottingham, GB
This bracelet by Gianni Versace is rare with it's unique detailing of balls with different cut-out patterns. The silver tone complements beautifully against the sparkling stones. The...
1990s Gianni Versace Rhinestone Medusa Medallion Silvertone Bracelet
By Gianni Versace
Located in West Hollywood, CA
This 1990s Gianni Versace bracelet features iconic Medusa medallions adorned with rhinestones set in a silvertone finish. The bold design showcases four Medusa faces, each encircled ...
Van Cleef & Arpels Textured Gold and Diamond Bracelet
By Van Cleef & Arpels
Located in Darnestown, MD
Van Cleef and Arpels textured 18 karat gold bracelet with two different shaped links highlighted by 16 diamonds. The bracelet is the ulti...
Diamond, 18k Gold
Nautical Anchor Link Bracelet 18 Karat Solid Yellow Gold and Red Carnelian
By Pradera Irama
Located in Neguri, Vizcaya
Iconic nautical, marine chain symbolizes strength and sportive love for outdoor sports Solid Gold Finish for extra body and stregnth A classic and timeless design that you will enjoy...
Carnelian, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Textured Curbchain Link Bracelet with Diamonds
Located in Darnestown, MD
Elegant and unusual textured curbchain link bracelet with diamonds. The bracelet has a total diamond weight of approximately 3.5 carats; diamonds are VVS. Each link is 3/4 " wide; length is 7 inches. The bracelet was originally retailed by Scully and Scully.
Diamond, 18k Gold
Sapphire Diamond Gold Link Bracelet
Located in Darnestown, MD
Elegant and intricate gold bracelet enhanced with diagonal bands of sapphires and diamonds. The round gold links are nicely textured. The bracelet has 40 brilliant cut diamonds weigh...
Sapphire, 18k Gold
$5,500
W 0.36 in L 7.09 in
Georgios Collections 18 Karat Yellow Gold Sapphire Ruby and Emerald Bracelet
By Georgios Collections Inc
Located in Astoria, NY
S.Georgios Bracelet is Handmade from solid 18 Karat Yellow Gold and is microscopically decorated with granulation-yellow gold beads and wires. Granulated details contrast with the By...
Emerald, Multi-gemstone, Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, ...
Art Deco Platinum Diamond Bracelet, 10ct Total Weight, Italy 1930s
Located in Firenze, IT
In a hinged design, set with round, marquise-shaped and baguette-cut diamonds throughout, approximate total weight 10 carats, length: 17,5cm
Diamond, Platinum
$16,210 / item
W 0.48 in L 6.89 in
Annamaria Cammilli "Dune" Link Bracelet with Diamonds in 18 Karat White Gold
By Annamaria Cammilli
Located in SOLVANG, CA
From Annamaria Cammilli's Essential collection, Dune bracelet handcrafted in 18 karat Ice White gold. Sixteen brilliant white diamonds at 0.62 carat total weight. Eight oval links ar...
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
$11,880 / item
W 0.75 in L 6.89 in
Annamaria Cammilli "Dune" Bracelet with Diamonds in 18 Karat Orange Gold
By Annamaria Cammilli
Located in SOLVANG, CA
From Annamaria Cammilli's Essential collection, Dune bracelet handcrafted in 18 karat orange gold. Four brilliant white diamonds at 0.23 carat total weight. Two outer curving circles...
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
$12,470 / item
W 0.75 in L 6.89 in
Annamaria Cammilli "Dune" Bracelet with Diamonds in 18 Karat Ice White Gold
By Annamaria Cammilli
Located in SOLVANG, CA
From Annamaria Cammilli's Essential collection, Dune bracelet handcrafted in 18 karat Ice White gold. Four brilliant white diamonds at 0.23 carat total weight. Two outer curving circ...
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
$9,874 / item
L 9.06 in
Beatrice Barzaghi 5 carat Aquamarine Diamond Gold Unique Clasp Cosmic Bracelet
Located in Milan, IT
The Saturno bracelet is made of 18kt white gold and features an intense oval mixed cut, 10x14x6.4 mm, 5.2 carats aquamarine and around 1.00 carat total weight, F-G vvs-vs, n. 107 brilliant cut round diamonds. It is CAD designed by Italian designer and gemologist (GIA G.G.) Beatrice Barzaghi, then 3D printed, fused in gold, soldered, set and polished by hand by the best Italian goldsmiths. The bracelet’s weight is about 12.54 g. The external oval of the bracelet measures 28.5x24 mm. The bracelet length is 23 cm. It is specially designed to be clasped easily and be worn comfortably on the wrist; if correctly fastened it does not turn on the inner part of the wrist because of the weight. Creating this special clasp was inspired by observing reality from a different point of view, thus wearing this bracelet is aiming to remind the wearer that reality changes accordingly to the observation point. The Saturno bracelet gets its name by Saturn planet...
Diamond, Aquamarine, Gold, 18k Gold
Frederick Davis Sterling Silver and Amethyst Bracelet
By Frederick Davis
Located in Darnestown, MD
This dramatic bracelet by Frederick Davis (1880 - 1961) is as unusual as it is beautiful. The bracelet consists of four silver discs in which are set cabochon amethysts. The links ar...
Amethyst, Sterling Silver
Tanisa Nahata Diamond 1.65ct. Half Bezel Cuban Chain Bracelet in 18KYG.
By Tanisa Nahata
Located in Hong Kong, HK
This unique 18K yellow gold bracelet marries bold style with refined elegance, featuring a half-bezel-set diamond section seamlessly transitioning into a classic Cuban chain. Its mod...
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Gianni Versace Iconic Medusa Buckle Bracelet
By Gianni Versace
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
This 1990's Gianni Versace Iconic Medusa buckle bracelet is a RARE piece. Featuring a large Medusa Medallion with black leather trim. Gold plated side hardware with a leather buckle ...