Versace Cutout Runway Bandage Dress with Full Skirt
View Similar Items
Versace Cutout Runway Bandage Dress with Full Skirt
About the Item
Versace
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.
- Jacqueline de Ribes Silk Dress With Leather Straps 1980sBy Jacqueline de RibesLocated in Water Mill, NYA fabulous red silk dress with black dots by French designer Jacqueline de Ribes. It has a double breasted wrap style closing with round black buttons and bound buttonholes and fabu...Category
1980s French Day Dresses
- Stella McCartney Gown with Cut out WaistBy Stella McCartneyLocated in Water Mill, NYA gorgeous black stretch bandage dress from Stella McCartney. It has a crew neckline, cut in shoulders and is fitted through the hips. There are mesh covered cut outs on the sides ...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
On Hold$775 - Dolce & Gabbana Strapless Silk DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Water Mill, NYA stunning fine silk leopard print bustier dress from Dolce and Gabbana. Ruching emanating from the center front creates a flattering cinched waist, in contrast the back is unadorned...Category
Early 2000s Italian Day Dresses
- Dolce & Gabbana Lace up Silk DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Water Mill, NYA beautiful stretch silk leopard print dress from Dolce & Gabbana. The bodice has adjustable straps, functional and adjustable side lacing through to the hips plus rows of top stitch...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vicky Tiel 1980s Strapless Ruched DressBy Vicky TielLocated in Water Mill, NYA pretty black slinky dress with stretch from Vicky Tiel. It is strapless and horizontally ruched from top to bottom front and back. The bodice has side boning, a side zipper and th...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Gianni Versace Leather Dress with Mink Hem F/W 1997By Gianni VersaceLocated in Water Mill, NYA soft, supple black leather dress with 2" of mink fur around the hem by Gianni Versace. It is a simple, subtle A-line silhouette with small straps, a back zipper, and a full silk li...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage 1930's Cartwright Ivory Striped Silk Rayon Cut-Out Maxi Dress & JacketLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThe vibrant rainbow-stripe used on this ivory silk rayon 1930's "Cartwright" designer dress ensemble has a whimsical allure that I find irresistible. The sleeveless bodice has a flir...Category
1930s American Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Givenchy Printed Plunging Maxi DressBy GivenchyLocated in Geneva, CHWonderful 70's silhouette with this Givenchy maxi dress. Made of airy silk chiffon featuring a red and white graphic print, the dress has a deep plunging neckline at the front and re...Category
1970s French Maxi Dresses
- Jackie Rogers Classic Black Satin Bias Cut DressBy Jackie RogersLocated in West Palm Beach, FLJackie Rogers classic silky black satin bias cut dress from the 1990s. The perfect black dress to dress up with jewelry and or a belt. The dress slips o...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage 1950's Worth Couture Shocking Pink Floral Print Silk Shawl-Collar DressBy House of WorthLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThis gorgeous House of Worth haute couture cocktail ensemble, dating back to the early 1950-52 time period, is in a class of its own. The House of Worth was an elite French...Category
1950s French Cocktail Dresses
- 80s Kevan Hall Couture Black Sequin 1980s Off Shoulder Vintage Cocktail DressLocated in San Diego, CALate 1980s KEVAN HALL COUTURE black off-the-shoulder sequin dress ! Features a nude chiffon underlay with a lace nad sequin bodice. Flowy silk chiffon skirt. Boned bodice. Hidden zip...Category
15th Century and Earlier Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1940s Marge Riley Hand Embroidered Western SuitLocated in New York, NY1940s Marge Riley Hand Embroidered Western SuitCategory
1940s American Day Dresses