Sep
11
Versace World
There’s so much madness when you look at Versace’s older creations, this intensity is something I can see right away in works by other designers like Alaia or Raf Simons…I have two really old Versace books my mom got me during college filled with some of the most beautiful clothing, I was going through a lot of books recently looking for some inspiration..sometimes when you work on new projects it’s nice to gather some images even if they are the kind that may not work into your ideas at all…Well I am scanning these in for my personal use I thought I might as well share them. If you’re really interested in Versace’s older designs I suggest you buy Vanitas: Designs
This is an old polaroid shot by Warhol of Gianni Versace.
There’s this stupid quote about how Versace himself thinks he dresses ‘sluts’ only- The word slut is disgusting. The male equivalent for this word is Playboy, so why can’t we just use Playgirl. I was disappointed that Versace even used the word slut to describe any woman but we can all let him slide because he was a genius and also because he suffered an unjust death. But I think this is so untrue.. he doesn’t only dress sluts. Versace can be for every woman. It’s just about how you carry yourself in it. I think his clothes are classy, not just outrageous. Look at Princess Diana rocking Versace. In fact that this is what I love about Versace’s older work, it’s really for everyone.
Of course I am attracted to things that I wouldn’t explore myself. Like color explosions and sequins. I can assure you that I won’t be adding sequins or too much color into anything I design. But you’d have to be really jaded to look at this outfit below and not like it. Even though I would never come up with something like this I find it very enticing. The top and the leggings just work so well together, again I love that he’s not anywhere in between, I guess his mentality is, what’s the point if you don’t go all the way? I’d have to agree.
It’s obvious when you look closely at Versace’s work, that he was never satisfied with what he created which is why he was always changing something or making a more extreme version of it. It’s hard to understand this disappointment when you look at his work now because it’s so dazzling but you always have a different relationship with your work when you are intimate with the process of creating it.
It’s crazy how you can take the same thing (vertically colored stripes) and in two different contexts, it looks completely different. To the right a Raf Simons campaign, and to the left an old Versace campaign…
This one has got to be one of my favorite Versace related images. I’m saving my favorite Versace design for last but I like this image more as a whole than just for the clothing. The girls, the empty street, the mood, the bike, and the uniform outfits… My eyes are so used to girls being anorexic-thin now that when I look at these girls below I think “curvy” but there is no way in hell they are ‘curvy’…just in comparison to how painfully thin the models look now.
Oh and I guess this is the man version! I am always surprised by people’s reactions to these boots that all the guys are wearing. This isn’t surprising to me because I’ve had this book for a while. They are the exact same as the Chloe Susan’s that everyone and their mom had been pining for ages ago..But wait, these Versace boots totally came first but who cares?..and who knows..maybe Versace himself lifted these boots from someone else we don’t know about..People need to stop targeting Jeffrey Campbell or Forever 21, it’s just so stupid! High end designers lift all the time it’s just harder to pin down the source because they lift from rarer sources..
If you’ve dug deep enough into the fashion spot for hi res images of Versace’s harnessed/belted designs you would have seen some of these already. These are scanned from my books but I love how he took something that was meant purely for function (you know belts…they need to be adjustable and are used to keep pants secure around the waist or hip) and used them as decorations for tight dresses. He was hyper aware of all the details needed to complete such decorations, could you imagine these belted looks with just ONE belt loop? He knew that you’d need multiple belt loops stacked vertically/horizontally to create the right kind of visual impact (referenced below). And this is what I like about his work. It’s not balanced, or in-between. It’s just extreme and he pushes it all the way without compensation. I think Raf Simons does the same, even though he is a totally different kind of designer, his work is extreme too.
The stacking that he uses with the metal belt loops is something I do too with my jackets. It’s not because I looked at this photo and tried to do the same thing, though if that was the case I would admit it. It’s just that I too, in the moment of arranging and experimenting with the hardware I thought…. 3 belt loops stacked together just look better than 1..it wouldn’t take a design genius to figure this out, you just know it looks right when you see it.
Another really important part of his work was decoration. He used sequins just like any painter would use pigment to express a feeling or mood. I hate sequins, I really do, but I can overlook this hatred just for Versace. It’s just like painstakingly detailed Rococo art, but he creates that same kind of feeling for garments.
One of the reasons why I don’t like this kind of decoration..it’s not necessarily because I don’t like to look at it, but I produce most of the clothing with my own hands so if it’s this hard to do, I don’t want to design something like it because I like to get maximum results for minimal effort. This kind of thing produces maximal results but ALSO requires maximal effort. I would not be able to survive this mind numbing work, sewing a million sequins onto a dress…it’s too much physical work for me. But I look at this now and I think it’s quite beautiful, great for Versace that he grew powerful enough to be able to hire this many seamstresses. I think his sequin/decoration work is some of the best work he ever created.
Told you guys I had to save my favorite look for last. The only way this look could be better was if the studs were silver, not gold, but I love it in gold too. The micro studs or caviar studs are just so beautiful, it’s tough but delicate all at the same time, and it was the first time I not only saw this studded look done for a full head to toe outfit but also for a pleated skirt. Normal sized studs can look bulky but these micro studs are light and feminine. And the studs are not placed randomly, you can tell they are all studded on a grid pattern which is something I also love about this design. There are press machines in italy and China where you can set in about 2000 micro studs in one shot. The workmanship is absolutely stunning and of course this is because this garment below was done on such press machines. I would not mind having this in my closet. Thanks for reading, more soon.
Love this post. You’ve given me an appreciation for Versace that I never thought I would ever have.
Also I’m glad that you call out his use of the word “slut”. Words are powerful and so many of the words that are used to denigrate women relate to women’s sexuality. It’s subtly violent and people need to be aware of why “whore” and “cunt” and “slut” are the most common insults for women. It discredits all the other aspects of being female.
my oh my to have some of those boots and accessories!!!!!
“High end designers lift all the time it’s just harder to pin down the source because they lift from rarer sources..” YUP. Hey even Rick Owens got his start in his own words “knocking off patterns.” There are brands like Cavalli and Versace, that I never want to be minimal and “chic.” I always want to see them over the top, too much is not enough tacky. Thanks for scanning the last look, I have an editorial image of this saved too. The upcoming versace/h&m will pull from Versace’s archives, and that look is one they are using.
Love Versace!!! But I’m always inclined to think that the “slut” comment was taken out of context….or it was said tongue-in-cheek. People often shy away from Versace because the brand throughout the years has always been so bold and it truly takes a confident woman to wear the clothes.
I love these inspiration posts. Thank you!
Dropping some serious fashion knowledge in this post! I love it. I was never a huge Versace fan because I thought it was tacky but seeing this post now…I totally get it. Lady Gaga seems to be the only one Donatella has opened the vaults for but I think Gaga’s over it now and on to the next thing. Thank goodness for your blog!
I really like this post. I’ve always thought of Vesace designs as fashion on Speed…if not crack
I like some of his creations but, I never found them very wearable. His style always seemed too ingrained in the art part of fashion if not the function of fashion. Either way, I like your point of view on this arguable genius, you made a virtue out of something I once dismissed as vulgar.:)
I had no idea he said that. I can’t imagine what he meant by that, but it sounds pretty disgusting. the designs are awesome though, they make my brain tingle.
So unusual, I don’t think many people talk about Gianni Versace anymore. He was never my favorite, but you have to love him all the same, for what you said, his work was really extreme and it’s like that that an art is changing and becoming interesting. I also love the (top) models from this period. They were like rock stars.
great post. such amazing images
raspberrykitsch.blogspot.com
xx
Great post! I think one can’t but respect his bravery and refusal to compromise. There’s no restraint… a bit like Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Re the very unpleasant word ‘slut’ – perhaps it’s also a question of translation? I don’t know the word he used in Italian (puttana?) (or the word he thought would translate as ‘slut’), but European catholic countries often have a quite romantic/dirty relationship to the ‘dark side of Mary’… so it might not have been meant in a contemptuous manner.
your passion for fashion is awe-inspiring
My favourite Versace piece of all times is the white dress worn by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy at the Fire and Ice Ball in LA in 1998. There aren’t too many good images of it, but I thought it was perfection. Here’s a few links (not my blog).
http://carolynbessettekennedy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/fire-and-ice-ball-1998/
http://carolynbessettekennedy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/fire-and-ice-ball-1998/attachment/50/
http://carolynbessettekennedy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/fire-and-ice-ball-1998/attachment/47/
http://carolynbessettekennedy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/fire-and-ice-ball-1998/attachment/51/
http://carolynbessettekennedy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/fire-and-ice-ball-1998/attachment/66/
Have to agree with the comment on the anorexic looking models of today. When I saw the models in this post, the 1st thing I noticed is how much more womanly models of the past looked. You would never see such models today. They wold be told they need to lose weight. The question is: What is wrong with our society that the ideal body shape is one that resembles an overgrown pre-pubescent girls. Just as an example, Chanel Iman is now modelling for Victoria Secret. Something about her always grossed me out and then I figured out what it was: She resembles a pre pubescent girl attempting to be sexy. It’s repulsive because she’s too skinny and looks like a child. I think it’s all evidence of how youth oriented our culture is.
Versace will always have a soft spot in my heart for so many reasons. A former beloved bought me a wonderful gift from Versace, when my aunt lived in Miami, she took the time to take me to his mansion and take in the magnificence of his life as well as the tragedy of his death. I also clearly remember going to the Versace exhibition at the V&A museum ages ago ( I think it was 2002) and staying all day to listen to the lectures and symposiums drinking cheap English tea. The exhibition was called, The Art and Craft of Gianni Versace and it was one the most memorable exhibitions I’ve ever seen as it focused on all the techniques he used in his designs that were obviously continuing in Donatella designs also. To see that kind of craftsmanship up close is a blessing. I should dig up the photos I took and relive those days of being the ridiculously curious design student in London. Thanks for the post!
I absolutely adore Gianni Versace. There is something so amazing about opulence. His pieces are over the top yet tasteful. I found I had the same kind of reaction to McQueen.
Have you ever read Adolf Loos’s ‘Crime and Punishment?’ This short book articulates the reason why Versace—workmanship and all—will always pale in comparison to minimalist designers.
And I’m surprised people are so offended by the ‘slut’ comment. It’s clear that it was meant in a tongue-in-cheek way, especially if you consider as some people pointed out, that Versace was Italian. To comment on Anastassia’s comment, I would say that whereas McQueen was tasteful, Versace was not. There is nothing tasteful about that family at all, just look at sister Donatella—not that that’s a bad thing necessarily. Versace’s designs were raucous, steeped in excess, not for the faint of heart, never pc…just like the archetypal ‘slut.’
Adolf Loos’ ‘ Ornament and Crime’ essay unfortunately doesn’t make a convincing argument for lack of ornamentation. Its whole premise is far too moralistic and is just a re-hash of Ruskin’s social criticism during the Arts & Crafts movement, with the tenets reversed.
The Versace ‘slut’ quote is a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal to Giorgio Armani who said, amongst other things “Versace presents women as bait for men, the incarnation of vulgar sex fantasies, a sort of nightclub where they do strip teases for local hoods”
what great post! Thanks!
Im obliged for the article.Thanks Again.