Versace Color Block Leather Wristlet Clutch Bag
View Similar Items
Versace Color Block Leather Wristlet Clutch Bag
About the Item
Versace
Subversive, maximalist and unabashedly seductive, Gianni Versace’s (1946–97) designs infused high fashion with an entirely new ethos. “I don’t believe in good taste,” the legendary Italian couturier once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life. Today, vintage Versace clothing, handbags and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
More than any designer before him, Versace mined celebrity, music and Pop art for inspiration. In fact, 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! '90” — as the moment when the two worlds of fashion and pop culture became one, changing both forever.
Versace was born in Reggio di 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. This 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 Versace evening dresses, handbags, day dresses, accessories and more on 1stDibs.
- Judith Leiber Black Pleated Leather Resin Bone Top ClutchBy Judith LeiberLocated in Philadelphia, PAJudith Leiber Black Pleated Leather Resin Bone Top Clutch in very good condition. Black soft lambskin exterior in unique crisscross pinch pleated design trimmed with gold hardware, b...Category
1980s Clutches
- Tonya Hawkes Purple Metallic Embossed and Laser Cut Leather ClutchBy Tonya HawkesLocated in Philadelphia, PAGORGEOUS Tonya Hawkes Purple Metallic Embossed and Laser Cut Leather Clutch in excellent condition. Dark purple leather exterior with a unique geometric embossed pattern and laser cu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Clutches
- RED Valentino Black Sequin Leather Bow ClutchBy ValentinoLocated in Philadelphia, PARED Valentino Black Sequin Leather Bow Clutch in excellent condition. Double sided sequin body which changes between black and silver depending...Category
Early 2000s Clutches
- Moschino 30th Anniversary Black Leather ClutchBy MoschinoLocated in Montreal, QuebecMoschino clutch made out of red leather featuring gold tone hardware, moveable "Moschino" letters in the front, a decorative back chain and Moschino 30th Anniversary...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Hungarian Clutches
- Givenchy Stars & Stripes Clutch in Black Red 2017By GivenchyLocated in Montreal, QuebecBlack-Red Stars & Stripes Print Clutch with top zip fastening, front logo stamp, stars & stripes printed on the front, internal logo patch, silver-tone hardware & rectangular body. 2...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Clutches
- Balenciaga All Over Logo Hard Folded Pochette Clutch (670353)By BalenciagaLocated in Montreal, QuebecCOLOR: Black with white logo MATERIAL: Calfskin leather ITEM CODE: 670353 1009 x 668024 MEASURES: H 4.5” x L 11” x D .5” EST. RETAIL: $2100 COMES WITH: Care card, retail tags and box...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Clutches