Gianni Versace Versus Vintage White Jacket & Skirt Ensemble with Western Details
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Some wear on the hardware (see photos 12 to 17), faint yellowish soiling inside the collar of the jacket (see photo 18), a pin head stain on the left shoulder (see photo 19). May need some ironing upon arrival.
- Seller Location:Nice, FR
- Reference Number:
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: French Riviera, France
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Hermes Vintage "Pavement" Silk Print Jacket and Skirt EnsembleBy HermèsLocated in Nice, FRHERMES vintage rare "Pavement" silk print jacket and skirt ensemble featuring a gorgeous ancient flora and fauna mosaic design. Jacket featu...Category
20th Century French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Christian Lacroix Vintage Cocktail EnsembleBy Christian LacroixLocated in Nice, FRCHRISTIAN LACROIX vintage cocktail ensemble featuring a blue satin lace overlay bustier and a black organza puffball skirt. BUSTIER features : - Blue s...Category
20th Century French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Thierry Mugler Vintage Black Gingham Print Worsted Wool Skirt SuitBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Nice, FRTHIERRY MUGLER vintage black gingham print worsted wool skirt suit. JACKET features : - Typical MUGLER's cut and tailoring with basque. - Structured shou...Category
20th Century French Skirt Suits
- Thierry Mugler Vintage Black Wool & Claw Ornaments Skirt SuitBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Nice, FRTHIERRY MUGLER vintage black wool and claw ornaments skirt suit. JACKET features : - Tailored typical MUGLER's cut. - Structured shoulders. - Faux astrakahn black fur detail on coll...Category
20th Century French Skirt Suits
- Thierry Mugler Vintage Iconic Black Worsted Wool and Velvet Claws SuitBy Thierry MuglerLocated in Nice, FRTHIERRY MUGLER vintage iconic black worsted wool skirt. This suit is typical from THIERRY MUGLER's sculptural cut and aesthetic. BLAZER features : - Bla...Category
20th Century French Skirt Suits
- Jean Paul Gaultier Degas Ballerinas Print Mesh Maxi Skirt Ensemble S/S RTW 2004By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Nice, FRJEAN PAUL GAULTIER FUZZI mesh maxi skirt and top ensemble featuring an EDGAR DEGAS inspired ballerinas print in shades of green, yellow, white and oran...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Skirt Suits
- Louis Vuitton Dark Gray Skirt Suit with Velvet Trim F/W 2005 Size 38FRBy Louis VuittonLocated in Saint Petersburg, FLLouis Vuitton - Runway collection skirt suit Fall/Winter 2005. This dark gray wool suit is trimmed with velvet and a powerful statement! . Simple yet dynamic in structure and eleg...Category
Early 2000s French Skirt Suits
- CHANEL boutique Suit white cotton jacket and skirt late 80sBy Chanel BoutiqueLocated in Rubiera, REChanel Boutique vintage suit from the late 80s White piqué cotton Double-breasted jacket with buttons covered in the same fabric. Incrustations of sequins and lace flowers. Silk lin...Category
1980s French Skirt Suits
- Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil S/S 2002 Vintage "Portraits" Wrap DressBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Berlin, DEJean Paul Gaultier Soleil S/S 2002 Vintage Pop art "Portraits" Mesh Madi Wrap Backless Dress SHIPPING FROM BERLIN The creme del la creme of my extensive collection. The most covet...Category
1990s European Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Vintage White Oversized Opera CoatLocated in Scottsdale, AZAdd a little drama to your wardrobe with our incredible vintage opera coat! You don't need to be headed to the opera to enjoy a piece as amazing as ...Category
1960s American Opera Coats
- Vivienne Westwood unisex striped cotton bondage 3 piece pant suit, ss 1994By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood unisex blue and white striped cotton 'Cafe Society' 3 piece pant suit. Singled breasted blazer jacket with embroidered orb on patch pocket, slim fit pants with bond...Category
1990s British Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Azzedine Alaia charcoal grey molten wool trouser suit, fw 1987By Azzedine AlaïaLocated in London, GBPresenting an exquisite Azzedine Alaia charcoal grey molten wool trouser suit, a true masterpiece from the autumn-winter 1987 collection. This suit exemplifies the designer's impecca...Category
1980s Italian Trouser Pant Suits