Gianni Versace silver double medusa head necklace with rhinestones, 1990s
About the Item
- Creator:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Circa 1990s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Nottingham, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU65732806143
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Gianni Versace 1990s necklace with circular medusa head pendentBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis rare Gianni Versace necklace is in true style of the designer himself. The 1990's gold necklace features beautiful circle interlocking chain wit...Category
1990s Italian Drop Necklaces
- Gianni Versace 1990 gold and silver metal rope necklace with silver pendentBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis Gianni Versace necklace is made up of a gold tone metal rope style chain, interlinked with a finer silver rope attached is the medusa head pendent with a cluster of crystals cir...Category
1990s Italian Drop Necklaces
- 1990s Gianni Versace gunmetal and gold tone medallion chainBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis Gianni Versace chain is the perfect representation of his 90's style. The bold curb chain features a dark gunmetal tone back with the front of the chain being gold in tone and ...Category
1990s Italian Chain Necklaces
- 1990s Gianni Versace cross pendant necklaceBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis 1990's Gianni Versace cross pendent necklace is masterpiece whilst offering a timeless classic style. The silver tone metal curb chain has a beautif...Category
1990s Italian Drop Necklaces
- Gianni Versace 1990's gold tone medusa head pendantBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis traditional Gianni Versace pendant necklace is a staple piece for any Versace enthusiast. The lightweight gold tone chain features a double anchor styled chain with a orange cle...Category
1990s Italian Pendant Necklaces
- 1990s Gianni Versace ball necklace with cutout detailingBy Gianni VersaceLocated in Nottingham, GBThis necklace by Gianni Versace is rare with it's unique detailing of balls with different cut-out patterns. The silver tone complements beautifully against the sparkling stones. The...Category
1990s Italian More Necklaces
- 18KT White Gold Bouquet Bow Diamond Flower Pendant 0.30 Ct TotalBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NY18KT white gold bouquet diamond flower pendant. .1 LILY CUT ® flower shape diamond H color VS SI clarity 0.23cts . additional 0.07 ct round diamond accent . overall length of drop...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Drop Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- Timeless Diamond Flower Drop Pendant NecklaceBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NYTimeless diamond flower pendant design 14 white gold with sparkling 1/2 carat total round stones Pendant suspends from an 18 inch chainCategory
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Drop Necklaces
- 18KT White and Rose Gold Bouquet Bow Diamond Flower Pendant 0.56ct TotalBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NY18KT white and rose gold bouquet bow diamond flower pendant. .1 LILY CUT ® flower shape diamond H color VS SI clarity 0.23 cts . additional 0..33 ct round diamond accent . overall le...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Drop Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- 18KT White Gold Flower Diamond Pendant Drop, ChainBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NY18 KT white gold 5 flower diamond pendant drop,18 inch chain .1 LILY CUT ® flower shape diamond H color VS SI clarity 0.30 cts . additional 0..14 ct round diamond...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- 18 Karat White and Rose Gold Bouquet Bow Diamond Flower Pendant 1.72 Carat TotalBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NY18KT white and rose gold bouquet diamond flower pendant. .1 LILY CUT ® flower shape diamond H color VS SI clarity 0.50cts . additional 1.22 ct round diamond accent . overall lengt...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Drop Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold
- 18KT White Gold Bouquet Diamond Flower Pendant 0.74ct TotalBy Lili JewelryLocated in New York, NY18KT white gold bouquet diamond flower pendant. .3 LILY CUT ® flower shape diamond H color VS SI clarity 0.54 cts . additional 0.20 ct round diamond accent...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Drop Necklaces
MaterialsDiamond, 18k Gold