Gianni Versace Gold Medusa Belt
View Similar Items
Gianni Versace Gold Medusa Belt
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Style:vintage (In the Style Of)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Port Hope, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU5384749583
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.
- Lutece Vintage Suede Embellished BeltLocated in Port Hope, ONNice and decorative belt with a detachable jeweled bow. Perfect for that additional touch of elegance!Category
Late 20th Century French Belts
$140 Sale Price20% Off - 1986 Kieselstein-Cord Brown Leather Belt w/Sterling Silver BuckleBy KIESELSTEIN-CORDLocated in Port Hope, ONNot the usual buckle, but nevertheless, a piece of art resembling bullet cartridges. The belt was made in the USA and will fit a waist up to 33". The silver has now received a cleani...Category
1980s American Belts
$375 Sale Price40% Off - Richard Original Pink Felt Hat, 1950sLocated in Port Hope, ONMade of felt, trimmed with satin, with a featherlike adornment, this hat fits snugly on your head. The underside of the hat has a serpentine silver and gros grain trim. The hat...Category
1950s Italian Hats
- Patricia Underwood Large Straw FedoraBy Patricia UnderwoodLocated in Port Hope, ONThis is one of British Milliner Patricia Underwood's Iconic hats. Straw with an undulating brim and a gros grain blue and black band. Perfect hat for both protection and style.Category
21st Century and Contemporary British Hats
$396 Sale Price20% Off - Ann Demeulemeester Gladiator Wedges 36By Ann DemeulemeesterLocated in Port Hope, ONIn great condition, these Ann Demeulemeester tan leather open toe gladiator wedges are so fashionable. They come up to your ankle, and although they have adjustable straps for easy w...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
$295 Sale Price21% Off - Jimmy Choo "Neyo 120" Nude Cork Wedges 37 As NewBy Jimmy ChooLocated in Port Hope, ONLovely nude colored suede with cork wedges and rubber soles. These are edgy and comfortable. They feature open toes; adjustable ankle strap; a cork wedge with the Jimmy Choo logo inc...Category
2010s Italian Shoes
$148 Sale Price49% Off
- Chanel Red Leather Belt, 1990-2000s Pristine Condition, Never Worn.By ChanelLocated in Buchanan, MIChanel Red Leather Belt, 1990-2000s Pristine Condition, Never Worn. Red Leather Buckel With Chanel Stamp.Category
20th Century Belts
- Chanel Gold-Tone Horse Riding Motif Medallion Necklace Belt, 1990sBy ChanelLocated in Praha 2, Hlavní město PrahaChanel gold-tone horse riding motif medallion necklace belt, made in France, 1990s. The belt is stamped. Very classic and great for everyday wear. Origin: France Size: total length ...Category
1990s French Belts
- Coco Chanel Early Poured Glass Sea Serpent BeltBy ChanelLocated in Riverdale, NYCoco Chanel Early Poured Glass Haute Couture Belt. Designed as a series of swag chains with emerald poured glass stations. Classically Baroque in the Chanel idiom with sea serpent...Category
1960s French Baroque Revival Belts
- CoCo Chanel Haute Couture Lion BeltBy ChanelLocated in Riverdale, NYCoCo Chanel early chain belt composed of signature curb chain with classic signature lions head motifs terminating in an adjustable pendant tassel. Coco Chanel synthesizes her favor...Category
1960s French Belts
- D&G Chain Belt "Fate l'amore non la guerra" S/S 2003By D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Venezia, ITD&G Chain Belt "Fate l'amore non la guerra" S/S 2003 Measures: Length 103cm Materials: Leather / Chain Conditions: Very Good. - NO RETURN! If you need more information, please contac...Category
Early 2000s Italian Belts
- Gucci Belt with Enamel and Gilt Metal or Choker NecklaceBy GucciLocated in New York, NYA stunning and juicy vintage enamel and gilt metal gucci logo belt with toggle clasp. The gilt and enamel are in beautiful condition with the double interlocked gucci G's!. And you can also wear it as a stylized double wrapped choker...Category
1970s Italian Belts