Gianni Versace by Donatella Purple 3" Beaded Heel Pumps
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Height: 5.5 in (13.97 cm)Width: 3.5 in (8.89 cm)Length: 9.5 in (24.13 cm)Marked Size: 38 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Very light scuffing to outsoles, comes with original Gianni Versace branded box and dustbag.
- Seller Location:West Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2388214274942
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: West Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- F/W 2002 Gucci by Tom Ford Lavender Alligator 4.25" HeelsBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting Tom Ford designs these power heels for Gucci’s Fall/Winter 2002 collection. A similar brown pair lives in fashion infamy and was carried by Michelle De...Category
Early 2000s Italian Shoes
- S/S 1998 Gucci by Tom Ford Green Alligator Crystal G Square Toe Kitten Heels NWTBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting absolutely iconic, these heels were designed by Tom Ford during his time as the creative director of Gucci for the S/S 1998 collection. The small/kitten heels feature a po...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- F/W 1999 Gucci by Tom Ford Grey Velvet 4.5" Heeled Boots Ad CampaignBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a rare pair of grey velvet high-heeled boots designed by Tom Ford for Gucci's Fall/Winter 1999 collection. According to Ford, this collection was me...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- F/W 1996 NOS Gianni Versace Baby Blue Crystal Pump Heel Size 36By Gianni VersaceLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a pair of baby blue open-toe Gianni Versace heels, designed by Gianni Versace. From the Fall/Winter 1996 collection, these heels debuted as part of look 9 on the season's runway modeled by Trish Goff...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- S/S 1998 Gucci by Tom Ford Light Green Alligator Kitten Heels Crystal GBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting Absolutely iconic, these heels were designed by Tom Ford during his time as the creative director of Gucci for the S/S 1998 collection. The small/kitten heels feature a po...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- S/S 1998 Gucci by Tom Ford Runway 'GG' Crystal Heels Brown Amber 37.5CBy Tom Ford for Gucci, GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAAbsolutely iconic, these heels were designed by Tom Ford during his time as the creative director of Gucci for the S/S 1998 collection. The small/kitten heels feature a pointed toe m...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- 1970s Givenchy Vintage Black Leather Fur Loafers Size 8.5 Chaussures Shoes BucklBy GivenchyLocated in Portland, ORThis is a pair of exceptional Givenchy Paris Chaussures vintage ladies shoes from the 1970's. They are a size 8 ½ narrow black leather shoes with ...Category
1970s French Shoes
- Vintage Bally Black and White Striped Pumps W Original Shoe BoxBy BallyLocated in Portland, ORWe love these vintage Bally black and white striped leather pumps with solid black heels. These fun shoes are marked a size 7N and come with their origin...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Heels
- Mint Green Escada Margaretha Ley 1980s Vintage Leather Shoes W Cutout Details 7BBy Escada, Escada Margaretha LeyLocated in Portland, ORThese fun Escada vintage 1980's shoes have unique cutouts and are in a soft mint green kid leather. The shoes are marked a size 7B and come with their original box and dust bag. The ...Category
1980s Italian Shoes
- Unworn Walter Steiger Vintage Shoes in Purple & Black Suede With 3.5" Heels 7AABy Walter SteigerLocated in Portland, ORWe are obsessed with vintage Walter Steiger footwear! These purple suede heels have dramatic uppers with sharp cutwork and a giraffe or abstrac...Category
1980s Italian Shoes
- Manolo Blahnik Vintage Suede Shoes With Leather Ankle Straps Size 37.5By Manolo BlahnikLocated in Portland, ORThese vintage Manolo Blahnik brownish taupe suede shoes have fabulous leather ankle straps that have wide butterfly shaped suede at the back of...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- Manolo Blahnik Ploiesti Snakeskin Shoes With Leopard Print ToesBy Manolo BlahnikLocated in Portland, ORThese black and grey leather snakeskin Manolo Blahniks slingbacks have leopard details and a faux "shoe clip" flap that is at the center of th...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes