Rare Gianni Versace Ensemble Spring 1992
View Similar Items
Rare Gianni Versace Ensemble Spring 1992
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 38 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:W1, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: GV91041stDibs: LU5681084462
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.
- Vintage La Chasse Silk hiffon Dress and CoatLocated in London, GBA stunning vintage silk chiffon dress and matching coat. In a pretty blue and white print, the dress has a frill at the neckline with ribbo...Category
1960s British Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Adele Simpson Satin and Brocade EnsembleBy Adele SimpsonLocated in Alford, MALuxurious fabrics and beautiful construction define this 1960s evening skirt and blouse ensemble by Adele Simpson. The top is fashioned like a shirt, but in a rich gold satin, and ha...Category
1960s American Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- ZANDRA RHODES Metallic Raw Silk Skirt Suit with Applique Size 8By Zandra RhodesLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Zandra Rhodes skirt suit is composed of a metallic raw silk in hues of bronze to burgundy. There are applique details on the jacket as well as center front snap closures. The s...Category
20th Century English Skirt Suits
- Custom Cream & Nude Wool Cape and Skirt Ensemble Size 6-10Located in Los Angeles, CAThis custom 1960's ensemble is composed of a wonderful wool in beige, nude, and cream hues. The cape features an open style and the skirt has a center back zipper closure with center...Category
1960s American Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- 1980S EMMANUEL UNGARO Black & Gold Haute Couture Silk Lurex Matelassé EveningLocated in New York, NY1980S EMMANUEL UNGARO Black & Gold Haute Couture Silk Lurex Matelassé Evening SuitCategory
1980s Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Early Emilio Pucci two pieces skirt ensemble.circa early 1960sBy Emilio PucciLocated in London, GBEmilio Pucci, one of the first international stars of Italian fashion, was inseparable from his kaleidoscopic textiles designs. This important print however has historical relevance...Category
1960s Jamaican Suits, Outfits and Ensembles