Rare Gianni Versace Couture Silk Crepe Cocktail Suit Fall 1990
View Similar Items
Rare Gianni Versace Couture Silk Crepe Cocktail Suit Fall 1990
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 40 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:W1, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: GVG6121stDibs: LU568735492
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. 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,” Versace once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life. Today, vintage Gianni Versace clothing, handbags and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
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 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.
- Roberto Cavalli F/W 2003 black & cheetah silk mermaid skirt suitBy Roberto CavalliLocated in Rome, IT- Roberto Cavalli skirt suit - Sold by Gold Palms Vintage - Fall/Winter 2003 - Black silk structured padded blazer - Crinkled cheetah button-up silk shirt with golden Taurus charms...Category
Early 2000s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
$982 Sale Price50% Off - UNWORN Missoni Metallic Lurex Crochet Knit Evening Dress Gown with Cardigan 42By MissoniLocated in Switzerland, CHUNIQUE & LUXURIOUS MISSONI METALLIC GOLD LUREX EVENING GOWN DETAILS: Beautiful gold lurex MISSONI gown MISSONI main line Classic MISSONI signature knit A fantasti...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Gowns
- NEW Chanel Black Lace Embroidery Evening Jumpsuit Overall 40By ChanelLocated in Switzerland, CHAn unique Chanel jumpsuit Rare and special piece that will last you for many years Jeweled CC buttons in front Made in France Dry Clean Only Size 40 Brandnew and unworn, comes with ...Category
2010s French Jumpsuits
$2,599 Sale Price39% Off - NEW Missoni Asymmetric Sequins Crochet Knit Mini Jumpsuit Romper Playsuit 38By MissoniLocated in Switzerland, CHMissoni crochet-knit playsuit is as colorful and vibrant as the coastal setting you'll likely be wearing it in. Classic MISSONI signature zigzag crochet knit Stunning colors...Category
2010s Italian Jumpsuits
$499 Sale Price66% Off - NEW F.R.S For Restless Sleepers FRS Floral Silk Velvet Evening Tuxedo Suit LBy F.R.S.Located in Switzerland, CHA stunning floral silky velvet evening tuxedo suit by FOR RESTLESS SLEEPERS FRS. This amazing suit is consisting of 3 pieces - the tuxedo jacket,...Category
2010s Italian Loungewear
- NEW Chanel Black Silk Dress Jewelled Buttons & Jacket Coat Suit Ensemble OutfitBy ChanelLocated in Switzerland, CHA modern but classic version of the famous little black dress by Chanel Consisting of two pieces, dress and coat Dress features a deep V n...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Dress and Coat Ensembles
$2,399 Sale Price40% Off