Versace La Madusa White & Black Large Tote Bag
View Similar Items
Versace La Madusa White & Black Large Tote 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” — 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, Versace 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. 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.
- Louis Vuitton Damier Sauvage Lionne HandbagBy Louis VuittonLocated in Scottsdale, AZThis is a stylish handbag from Louis Vuitton called the "Wild Lion," but it is a feminine and chic bag. It is constructed of treated calf hair in the handsome checked damier pattern....Category
Early 2000s Italian Top Handle Bags
$564 Sale Price20% Off - Givenchy Black Antigona HandbagBy GivenchyLocated in Scottsdale, AZWe are offering this black Givenchy Antigona handbag. Made in Italy, it is finely crafted of a black calfskin leather exterior with a 'GIVENC...Category
2010s Italian Top Handle Bags
$844 Sale Price20% Off - Chanel Caviar Small Outdoor Ligne Doctor BagBy ChanelLocated in Scottsdale, AZThis chic doctor inspired bag is crafted of diamond stitched caviar textured leather. The bag features reinforced leather top handles with ruthenium squared links, expanded sides, a ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Top Handle Bags
$1,100 Sale Price20% Off - Hermès Vintage Caramel Clemence Bolide 35 SatchelBy HermèsLocated in Scottsdale, AZThe Bolide has a domed single zip around closure, an oval patch and dual tubular top handles. Crafted of Taurillon Clemence leather in Caramel. Beneath the sleek exterior of Bolide h...Category
1990s French Top Handle Bags
$3,104 Sale Price20% Off - Chanel Vintage Mademoiselle Frame SatchelBy ChanelLocated in Scottsdale, AZEggplant quilted patent leather Chanel Mademoiselle Frame satchel with silver-tone hardware, single flat top handle, leather and chain-link shoulder strap, resin top frame featuring ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Top Handle Bags
$1,580 Sale Price20% Off - Chanel Vintage Black Quilted Wild Stitch HandbagBy ChanelLocated in Scottsdale, AZWe are offering this elegant black Chanel handbag. Made in Italy sometime between 2000 & 2002, it is crafted of black leather with quilted stitch ...Category
Early 2000s Italian Top Handle Bags
$1,300 Sale Price20% Off
- Pablo Picasso Vintage Bi Color Kelly Flap BagBy Pablo PicassoLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLThe Vintage Kelly Flap style bag from Pablo Picassi is one of the famed luxury goods house's most coveted and exclusive items. This flap bag is made of blac...Category
1980s Italian Top Handle Bags
- NEW LOUIS VUITTON Rare Fuchsia Runway Cartoon Art Firebird Limited Edition BagBy Louis VuittonLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLThe extremely rare LOUIS VUITTON Fuchsia Cartoon Firebird, the most luxurious of them all. One of a kind and only a few were released Worldwide in 2008! Cartoon Limited Collection ba...Category
Early 2000s French Top Handle Bags
- Judith Leiber Rare Vintage Alligator Kelly Flap BagBy Judith LeiberLocated in Fort Lauderdale, FLThe Vintage Kelly Flap style Alligator bag from Judith Leiber is one of the famed luxury goods house's most coveted and exclusive items. This flap bag is ba...Category
1980s Italian Top Handle Bags
- Hermès Birkin 35cm Gris Etain Togo PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA classic Hermès 35cm Birkin bag. The exterior of this Birkin is in Etoupe Togo leather with tonal stitching. It features palladium hardware and two top handles with a front toggle c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Novelty Bags
- Hermès Kelly Mini II Cuivre Chèvre Mysore PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA beautiful Hermès Kelly Mini II handbag. The exterior of this Kelly Mini features Cuivre Chèvre Mysore leather and is complemented by palladium hardware and tonal stitchings. It has...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- Hermès Kelly Mini II Tricolore Verso Craie/Mauve Pale/Gold Veau Epsom PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA gorgeous Hermès Kelly Mini II Tricolore Verso handbag. The exterior of this Kelly Mini features Craie, Mauve Pale and Gold Veau Epsom leather and is compl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags