Versace Navy Dress
View Similar Items
Versace Navy Dress
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” — as 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, 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 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.
- JW Anderson Black Fringe Shift DressLocated in Thousand Oaks, CAJ.W.Anderson Black Fringe Shift Dress Sheer detailing with a panel of loose hanging fringe in the middle of the front. Hard to capture this stunning dress in photos. Tags still on,...Category
2010s Cocktail Dresses
- Alexander Wang Black Draped Cold Shoulder Pleated DressBy Alexander WangLocated in Thousand Oaks, CAAlexander Wang Black Draped Cold Shoulder Dress. Draped black dress by Alexander Wang with open shoulders and tie neck. Elasticized waist to show o...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Chanel Runway Ribbon Cocktail DressBy ChanelLocated in Thousand Oaks, CAThis gorgeous navy and black and ribbon Chanel runway dress is one of a kind. Gorgeously classic, but a show stopper. CHANEL 06A Runway Black si...Category
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
$2,306 Sale Price30% Off - Etro Velvet Red Floral and Black Floral GownBy EtroLocated in Thousand Oaks, CAThis Etro full length gown is as comfortable as it is stunning. A deep V neckline and a slim silhouette makes the dress flattering on all frames. The material is floral and paisley v...Category
2010s Italian Evening Gowns
- Sonia Rykiel Black and Gold Sequin High Low Stripe DressBy Sonya RykielLocated in Thousand Oaks, CASuper funky black and gold vertical stripe sequin dress by Sonia Rykiel. This dress is sleeveless with a high-low hemline. The back hem is floor length with a slight train while the...Category
2010s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Sonia Rykiel Black and Gold Long Sleeve Sequin Cocktail Dress Size 8/10By Sonia RykielLocated in Thousand Oaks, CALong sleeve sequin cocktail dress by Sonia Rykiel with gold and black color blocked sequins and a fitted silhouette and center slit...Category
2010s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1990s Louis Feraud Black Cerimony Floral Velvet Vintage Long DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in Brindisi, BtLouis Feraud vintage women dress. Black color, 100% polyester. Long model, floral applications in velvet, adjustable waist belt, collar with flou...Category
1990s German Evening Dresses
$1,142 Sale Price20% Off - F/2012 look # 6 NEW VERSACE MACRAME GOTHIC CROSS COCKTAIL SILK DRESS 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual Runway Samole Fall/Winter 2012 Look # 6 Macrame Gothic Cross Cocktail Dress This long sleeve, turtle neck cocktail dress features an allover macrame Gothic cross...Category
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$3,555 Sale Price40% Off - 2005 Comme Des Garcons Little Black DressBy Tao Kurihara, Comme des GarçonsLocated in Scottsdale, AZTao for Comme Des Garcons, circa: 2005, The structure of these minimal, little black dress by the Japanese vintage fashion label, Comme Des Ga...Category
20th Century Japanese Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Linz Line Black Cocktail /Dinner DressLocated in London, GBA chic vintage cocktail/ dinner dress by Linz Line. The dress has a scalloped off the shoulder neckline and is fully lined. There is gatherin...Category
1950s Unknown Evening Dresses and Gowns
- The little black dress by Chanel black and white silk Sculpted figureLocated in Bilbao, ESAbsence of vulgarity was central to Chanel’s definition of luxury, a view formed during her impoverished early life. Born in 1883 in Saumur, France, as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, she was just 12 years old when her mother died and her itinerant father put her in a home for orphaned girls run by a local convent. She learned to sew and, upon moving to Moulins six years later, became a seamstress. She also sang in nightclubs, earning the sobriquet “Coco,” an allusion to a popular song of the time. Beautiful, one of a kind vintage silk dress and jacket for everyday ware as a coktail dress...Category
1990s Aesthetic Evening Dresses
$2,747 Sale Price32% Off - Gianni Versace F/W 1993 Runway Couture Sheer Knit Mesh Lace Evening Dress GownBy Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Naples, FLGianni Versace F/W 1993 Runway Couture Sheer Knit Mesh Lace Bustier Black Evening Dress Gown IT 44 Excellent Condition!Category
1990s Evening Dresses and Gowns