Gianni Versace lavender open-weave top
View Similar Items
Gianni Versace lavender open-weave top
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 28/42 Italy (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Angora 14%, wool 42%, nylon 44".
- Condition:Excellent.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU120416247767
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.
- David Bowie "New York City Retrospective Exhibition" "Ziggy" Gray Cotton TeeLocated in New York, NYDavid Bowie "New York City Retrospective Exhibition World Tour" "Ziggy" "David Bowie Is" Gray cotton tee-shirt measures 29 inches in length, underarm c...Category
2010s Mexican T-Shirts
- Proenza Schouler Multi-Color Floral Print Silk Tank TopBy Proenza SchoulerLocated in New York, NYProenza Schouler wonderfully elegant yet comfortable multi-color floral print silk tank top measures 20" in length in front 24" in back. The shoulder measures 12" across, u...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Bodices
- Rare Yamamoto Kansai Bold "Directions" Block Print Boat-Neck PulloverBy Kansai YamamotoLocated in New York, NYRare Yamamoto Kansai bold "Directions" block print boat-neck pullover measures 21 1/2" in length. boat-neck circumference is 24", neck-to-sleeve cuff ...Category
1970s Japanese Crop Tops
- Roberto Cavalli Multi-Print Silk Accented with Drawstring TopBy Roberto CavalliLocated in New York, NYRoberto Cavalli's wonderful whimsical multi-print accented with a drawstring tie-front of gold lame has his signature within the print on both front and back. The top's mater...Category
1990s Italian Bodices
- Kenzo Crew-Neck Cotton-Blend "Clouds" Sweat PulloverBy KenzoLocated in New York, NYIconic Kenzo whimsical crew-neck cotton-blend "Clouds" sweat pullover measures 16" across the shoulders. The length measures 23", neck-to-shoulder is 5", underarm circumferen...Category
1990s Japanese Pullovers
- Black, Charcoal & Gray Color-Block Abstract High-Collar 2-Ply Cashmere TunicLocated in New York, NYThis Wonderfully soft 2-ply Cashmere Black, charcoal-gray and gray color-block abstract is detailed with a high-collar measuring 3 inches. This 2-ply cashmere tunic...Category
1990s Chinese Pullovers
- CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE 70's Inspired Monochrome ShirtBy CelineLocated in Berlin, BECeline by Heldi Slimane monochrome shirt. This 70s inspired shirt is made from a soft viscose and features a relaxed fit, black and white triangle pattern, a collared neckline, long cuffed sleeves and a front button closure. So typically Hedi Slimane in style - looks amazing styled under a clack suit or easily styled with black jeans and a leather jacket. Made in Italy Fabric: Viscose Size 38 Please refer to measurements below (measured flat and across) Shoulders 49.5cm Bust 57cm Waist 53cm This Celine monochrome...Category
2010s Italian Collars
- CHRISTIAN DIOR & John Galliano Vintage Trotter Pencil Skirt Blue Denim 2002 Y2KBy Christian Dior, John Galliano for Christian DiorLocated in Алматинский Почтамт, KZCHRISTIAN DIOR & John Galliano Vintage Trotter Pencil Skirt Blue Denim 2002 John Galliano for Christian Dior Collection: Christian Dior 2002 Country of production: Portugal Christian Dior style: 2P12033139 Marked Size: FR 40 A cult vintage...Category
Early 2000s Portuguese Shirts
- Chanel Logo Coco Chanel Smoking Printed T-Shirt Pre-OwnedBy Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, ChanelLocated in Алматинский Почтамт, KZChanel Logo Coco Chanel Smoking Printed T-Shirt Pre-Owned Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld Collection: 2010 spring / summer collection Style: MP119 / P37873K...Category
2010s French Shirts
- FENDI - 90s White Cotton T-Shirt with Embroidered Shoulders | Size 4US 36EUBy FendiLocated in Cuggiono, MIHere's a Genuine Fendi White Top from the early years 2000, designed by Carla Fendi. It has a mock neckline and shoulder pads 1.5 cm high. The shoulders are completely covered by a refined arabesque pattern made of beads. About the brand - An Italian family business that began in 1918 with a fur and leather shop, Fendi officially became a fashion house in 1954 under the direction of Adele Casagrande Fendi. She worked closely with manufacturers and gained notoriety for using unusual and forgotten pelts. She also introduced color to fur. In the mid 1960s Fendi hired designer...Category
1990s Italian T-Shirts
- EMPORIO ARMANI FW2000 Purple velvet bustierBy EMPORIO ARMANI EA7Located in Paris, FREMPORIO ARMANI FW2000 Purple velvet bustier with grey mohair side Tag EMPORIO ARMANI Size S/M Width 70 - Length 30cm ( + sleeve = 13cm ) Fabric 1 9...Category
Early 2000s Italian Bustiers
- GIORGIO ARMANI SS2003 Light green and grey stripesBy Giorgio ArmaniLocated in Paris, FRGIORGIO ARMANI SS2003 Light green and grey stripes with ruched details on the front Tag: GIORGIO ARMANI Size M ( 42 IT ) Length: 65cm/ 25,59 inches Chest: 35cm/ 13,77inches 94% ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Tank Tops