The story behind Versace

The story behind Versace

If we compare my other blogs with this particular blog, you’ll quickly notice that this is going to be a very different subject than the ones I usually tackle, in this blog I’m going to dive into the narrative about the history of one of fashions most recognizable brands, Versace.

Background story about Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace was an Italian born designer from a small town called Reggio Calabria located in the Southern region of Italy where he lived with his mother, his now-infamous sister Donatella, and his brother Santo Versace.

Gianni was always very different from his classmates especially since he had other aspirations in comparison with the boys in his class, he wasn’t really interested in typical occupations like doctors, lawyers and nurses but was often observing his mother’s passion because he secretly really wanted to pursue a career in fashion but never admitted it until his mother discovered that he was really eager to try it.

His mother encouraged him to attempt various practices with textile to master the craft of fashion and thought him to sketch dresses and other garments that were usually made for women

However, not everybody was supportive towards Gianni particularly his classmates were frequently teasing him from being outstanding and for having a higher pitched voice which quickly caused him to have unpleasant nicknames.

Back in those days, Italy was quite conservative and even more religious than it is today.

In those times a man who wanted to pursue a career in fashion was not quite the image that Italians would love to picture for their son, but boys were often encouraged to become soldiers or doctors to serve for their nations which was being perceived as the ‘ultimate goal’ regarding occupations.

Gianni’s mother was not holding back because of these traditional regulations, and still was teaching her son the importance of fashion and how a garment can make a woman look more appealing, but also how a dress could be a ‘weapon’.

Even though his mother was teaching him the regular basis of textile, Gianni expanded his knowledge regarding fashion, and tried to explore distinctive and controversial designs that made his brand so recognizable.

Gianni explored themes like religion, but also sexuality which technically was a major taboo in conservative Italy, but that did not hold Gianni back from designing these astonishing pieces that are admired by many women over the world.

He wasn’t afraid to take any risks, hence why he tends to explore so many themes knowing that he could get backlash from strict religious, and traditional people, but nothing reduced his creativity and people knew Versace as a risktaker, and not a safe and calculated person who would restrict their ideas for the public.

Garments and designs

Since I have mentioned a couple of themes before I would love to illustrate some dresses underneath this paragraph, and I will explain the stories behind the garments in the most elaborate way.

Versace wanted to create garments for many kinds of women, but especially the woman who is very daring, fierce and unapologetic or basically, in conclusion, a woman who is most confident in herself and in her sexuality which explains the reason why Versace made garments that embraced the female body.

Linda is wearing a black dress with a signature Versace belt. at first glance, the dress might seem innocent but if you pay close attention to the boots you will notice that Gianni was hinting at BDSM in a very subtle way.

The leather boots and gloves are referring to BDSM because of their latex leather design, this is one of the tactics that Gianni uses to intrigue the customer, and the individuals who are watching the fashion shows.

This model is wearing a pink jacket with purple leather boots, if we compare this to the previous look you will notice that this particular design does not show a lot of skin and covers most of the body parts, however, the boots have an additional purpose which is adding sexiness to something conservative, garments like these will most likely be purchased by the conservative Versace customers.

This infamous dress worn by the magnificent Naomi Campbell really embraces the structure of the female body in all aspects, Gianni describes garments like these as statement pieces because it’s meant for the women who admire their bodies and who want to feel empowered in regards of their sexuality.

This dress has been worn again by Kim Kardashian when she was spotted by the paparazzi a couple years ago meaning that people are still interested in Versace archives.

Worn by supermodel Christy Turlington at the 1991’s Versace fashion show, this was one of Versace most outstanding pieces because this matching vest and bra set has Roman Catholic references, and contains of holy figures like Virgin Mary but also the art that you usually see in the windows of Catholic churches.

These are just a few exhibits of Versace’s remarkable garments, but what is clearly evidential is that all these garments have something noticeable and as Gianni Versace himself has confessed ages ago: “When you wear Versace, everybody will know that you’re wearing Versace”.

This was more than a statement, because many times a woman wore Versace merchandise people were always turning heads..

In some cases, even became famous because they were wearing his garments!

The dress that basically created a career

Remember Elizabeth Hurley and the infamous “black dress”? This was more than just a very outstanding dress.

It was something many people were not familiar with, hence why it grabbed the attention of the attendees but also the paparazzi who were capturing Elizabeth when she was attending the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, which Hugh Grant was a part of.

Elizabeth Hurley was an unknown actress which made it even more interesting, but when people noticed the sumptuous dress, she was wearing people were immediately intrigued by the charm of the British actress or should I say, the charm of her enchanting dress.

This illustrates Versace’s statement I mentioned before, that a dress could be much more than just a lovely garment but could actually be used as a “weapon”, and Elizabeth is frankly not the only person who benefited from the Versace effect.

The unfortunate loss of Gianni Versace

On the 15th of July, we all received some devastating news. The famous and admired fashion designer Gianni Versace was mercilessly assassinated in front of his own gate at his mansion, he was shot with the gun targeted at his skull.

One of Gianni’s friends, and his partner, Antonio have seen Gianni’s last few seconds before he deceased. It was Gianni’s friend who tried to chase the killer named Andrew Cunanan which was responsible for multiple murder cases which Versace was, unfortunately, a victim of.

The funeral was held in the Duomo Santa Maria Nascente cathedral in Milan with an estimated amount of 2000 visitors occupying the entire church.

Gianni Versace was acquainted with some high-profile celebrities like Princess Diana, Elton John, and Naomi Campbell who have all attended Gianni’s memorial service and it also was broadcasted on national Italian TV.

After the sentimental service, Gianni’s body was cremated due to Donatella’s demands.

Versace after the death of Gianni and Donatella’s revival of the company

After Gianni Versace died, Donatella and her relatives have decided to maintain the company as a family business. They have also stated that they do not want to negotiate with other companies that might want to purchase the profitable Italian company.

Donatella had the function as creative director since Gianni has already handed several diffusion brands in Donatella’s hand. It was very convenient to proceed with designing since she already has a lot of knowledge in that department, but despite her experiences, it was still very challenging to take over her brother’s businesses.

Donatella felt discouraged at the beginning and she really didn’t know what to do with the company after Gianni’s tragic murder, there were some rumors circulating around that she wasn’t capable of controlling the business and that she wanted to stop working altogether.

She eventually had a vision of what she wanted Versace to be and how it will be renovated in her own personal style.

Somewhere around 1997, Donatella launched her first independent collection which caught the attention of the media and many magazine corporations. This because of the fact that her style was very distinctive from her brother but still had an authentic Versace flare.

From the music, to the extravagant designs, to the powerful models she had selected, it was an undeniable success which Donatella didn’t even predict herself. This made her very emotional towards the end of the show, some of these looks will be illustrated like I did in the previous paragraph.

Naomi Campbell wearing a gorgeous corset with see-through straps, this is an example of the more daring designs that Gianni often made but this is still a little safer and less expressive.

Naomi Campbell wearing a gray dress which truly compliments her silhouette, a common trademark of a Versace dress is that they really respect the body of the woman and it showcases the beautiful curves they have, but in comparison with Gianni’s designs it was slightly simplistic but still gorgeous regardless.

Linda Evangelista wearing a see-through jumpsuit that is also made out of leather, which Gianni has not regularly experimented within his collections despite the boots and the leather jackets, one thing that was innovative about Donatella’s designs is that she made many looks with leather material (even dresses).

The first collection has received great reception from the press and from Versace fans alike, but what was noticeable is that Donatella still remains to respect the brand's identity but she is slightly changing it when it’s regarding the styles and also the materials she’s consuming for these garments.

Gianni would still be very proud since Donatella still remains the elements that make the fashion brand so incredibly bold and empowering.

But some Versace lovers are more fond of the vintage Versace designs that Gianni made, and are not really loving the modernized Versace brand, which is understandable since vintage is highly in demand again and people are desperately trying to find garments of that era.

In addition to that, Donatella eventually made a tribute collection in respect of her brother Gianni which basically really looks like the designs he would make, except there’s still a Donatella twist to it.

But this time Donatella used more bold and noticeable colors.

Instead of only using simplistic colors like white and black, she challenged herself to make baroque designs again which is one of Gianni most own patterns, when it’s regarding his designs aside from the bright colors and detailed accessories.

Take a look at the tribute collection.

The models are all wearing the same baroque patterns but only in adifferent structures and different garments (dresses, coats, vests and leggings), if you compare these designs to the ones that Gianni made you will immediately recognize the similarities.

These models are wearing jumpsuits with references regarding pop culture (Marilyn Monroe patterns, vogue patterns involving vintage supermodels, etc.) this is also a nod to one of Gianni’s designs that Chrissy Turlington and Linda Evangelista wore, the jumpsuits are almost indentical.

Doutzen Kroes is stunting in this enchanting black gown with a heart-shaped cut down the buttocks area, this look was also emulating one of Gianni’s infamous dresses.

Conclusion

Versace is still a brand that is commonly known around the globe.

And many people admire them for their extravagance, elegance, and boldness combined, but as a Versace fan, I do have some perspectives regarding the companies tactics and design methods.

How much I may adore Donatella, I notice that sometimes she needs to expand her vision when it comes to designing, I'm not saying that Donatella is not a promising designer, but sometimes it seems lik she holds onto the same aesthetics with every collection. Not necessarily a bad thing, as long as she attempts to experiment rather than maintaining the same patterns.

So all I’m expecting in the next collections is that Donatella at least attempts to be more experimental and not to set many “safe” boundaries in that matter

I’m excited to see how Donatella is going to create the next collection and I will always be a devoted and admiring fan regardless.

Just keep up the good work Donatella!