Gianni Versace Silk Printed Dress, 1990s
View Similar Items
Gianni Versace Silk Printed Dress, 1990s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Austin, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU1618845891
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.
- 1991 Dolce & Gabbana High Waist Corset Skirt Lace Top " pin up collection "By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Austin, TXF/W 1991 Dolce & Gabbana 'Pin-up' collection High Waist Corset Skirt Lace Bra Top Condition: Excellent Skirt is elastane & spandex- top is un...Category
1990s Italian Day Dresses
- D&G Denim Bustier Sheer HalterBy D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Austin, TX2000s D&G sheer dress with denim bustier and stretch bottoms. Sz M/ US 6 / IT 42 Condition: Very good, no visble damage 29.5" bust, 26" waist, 44" hips...Category
Early 2000s Italian Day Dresses
- 1990s Vivienne Tam Micro Mini DressBy Vivienne TamLocated in Austin, TX1990s Vivienne Tam red micro mini dress Condition; Excellent Size XS / SCategory
1990s Unknown Day Dresses
- 1960s Adele Simpson Linen Dress - saleBy Adele SimpsonLocated in Austin, TX1960s Adele Simpson red and white linen dress with rope belt and side pockets, v neck, zipper at back. Condition: Excellent. Size Medium We accept r...Category
1960s American Day Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche by Tom Ford strapless dress with slashesBy Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Austin, TX2003 YVES SAINT LAURENT RIVE GAUCHE BY TOM FORD strapless silk pink dress with cut outs at waist. Condition: Very good sizeCategory
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
- Complice black slip dress with longer hem in backBy Complice, Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Austin, TXComplice black slip dress with longer hem in back Condition: Good, some all over wear 100% Viscose 28" bust, 24" waist, 35" hips, 53" length size S /...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Christian Dior by John Galliano floral silk and lace draped dress, fw 2005By Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in London, GB▪ Christian Dior dress ▪ Designed by John Galliano ▪ Apricot floral printed silk chiffon ▪ Velvet trim ▪ Lace bust ▪ Draped skirt ▪ Spaghetti straps ▪ Fabric buttons at the side ...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Alexander McQueen striped cotton and lace dress with pleated skirt, ss 2005By Alexander McQueenLocated in London, GB▪ Alexander McQueen dress ▪ Constructed from a fine cotton-silk fabric in two colour-ways of red, cream and blue stripes ▪ Ivory lace inserts and trim ▪ Low-waisted skirt made up of...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1960s Maggy Rouff Pink Silk DressBy Maggy RouffLocated in Paris, FRMaggy Rouff pink silk dress featuring a white ribbon detail, a center back zip opening, a silk lining. Label: Maggy Rouff - 14 Avenue Montaigne Paris...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Antique Edwardian 1910s Vintage Ivory Net Tulle Dress W Soutache Embroidery TrimLocated in Portland, ORThis is an incredible vintage dress from the 1910's!! The soutache detail is so well done and we especially love the pretty three layers of soft netting . The base layer is solid wit...Category
Early 20th Century American Day Dresses
- Gianni Versace Fuchsia Floral One Shoulder DressBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Milano, ITFabulous one-shoulder short dress designed by Gianni Versace in the 1990s, made in Italy. ORIGINAL LABEL. The dress is very seductive, made entirely of a soft fuchsia fabric with a f...Category
1990s Italian Aesthetic Day Dresses
$791 Sale Price20% Off - D&G Vintage Leopard Mini DressBy D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Milano, ITSexy vintage dress designed by Dolce & Gabbana in the 1990s, made in Italy. ORIGINAL LABEL. The dress is a mini dress, reaching above the knee. It h...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses
$747 Sale Price20% Off