A/W 1994 Gianni Versace Metallic Gold Cutout Mini Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 31.1 in (79 cm)Marked Size: 2 (US)Bust: 30.4 in (77.22 cm)Waist: 26.4 in (67.06 cm)Hip: 30.4 in (77.22 cm)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:North Hollywood, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3084218849622
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. Today, his vintage dresses and gowns, handbags, sunglasses and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
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,” he once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life.
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 — 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. 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: North Hollywood, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- 1980's Penelope Zagoras Pleated Ecru and Silver Floral Embellished Mini DressLocated in North Hollywood, CA1980's Pénélope Zagoras Paris pleated ecru and silver floral embellished silk mini dress. Heavily embellished jewel neckline leaf pattern upper, with ...Category
1980s Day Dresses
- S/S 2006 Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere Ecru Mesh Fringe DressBy BalenciagaLocated in North Hollywood, CAS/S 2006 Balenciaga Paris by Nicolas Ghesquiere knee length ecru mesh fringe dress. Semi-sheer mesh round neck upper with gathered straps, with fully lined layered fringe lower. Conc...Category
Early 2000s Day Dresses
- 1990's Geoffrey Beene Ecru Striped Corset Strapless Cocktail DressBy Geoffrey BeeneLocated in North Hollywood, CA1990's Geoffrey Beene ecru striped corset strapless cocktail dress. Cream dress with full skirt, featuring large pleats. Can be styled with or without spaghetti straps depending on d...Category
1990s Day Dresses
- 1983 Oscar de la Renta White Asymmetrical Above-Knee Dress with BowsBy Oscar De La RentaLocated in North Hollywood, CA1983 Oscar de la Renta 'Miss D' white asymmetrical above-knee dress with black silk-satin bows at strap and hip. Drop waist one-shoulder dress with silk crepe fabric that drapes thro...Category
1980s Day Dresses
- 1980's Nolan Miller Ecru Wool Embellished Blazer DressBy Nolan MillerLocated in North Hollywood, CA1980's Nolan Miller ecru wool embellished blazer dress with silk satin trim. Collared blazer dress featuring ecru beaded embellishments at lapels and cuffed wrists. Fully lined with ...Category
1980s Day Dresses
- A/W 1999 Maison Martin Margiela Deep Rust Color-way 'Lining' Long Sleeve DressBy Maison Martin MargielaLocated in North Hollywood, CAA/W 1999 Maison Martin Margiela deep rust color-way 'lining' long sleeve dress. Long sleeve midi dress created with interior lining of dress, with 'necklace' formed by loop tie that ...Category
1990s Day Dresses
- 1970S Purple & Blue Striped Poly Blend Satin Long Sleeve Day To Night DressLocated in New York, NY1970S Purple & Blue Striped Poly Blend Satin Long Sleeve Day To Night DressCategory
1970s Casual Dresses
- 1990S GIANNI VERSACE Style Silk Crepe De Chine Leopard Baroque Scarf Print DressLocated in New York, NY1990S GIANNI VERSACE Style Silk Crepe De Chine Leopard Baroque Scarf Print DressCategory
1990s Casual Dresses
- 1960'S Pyschedelic Floral Cotton Long Sleeve Mod Dress With PocketsLocated in New York, NY1960'S Pyschedelic Floral Cotton Long Sleeve Mod Dress With PocketsCategory
1960s Casual Dresses
- MORPHEW COLLECTION Peach Silk Jersey Dress With Cutout Front & 1930S Floral TrimBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMORPHEW COLLECTION Peach Silk Jersey Dress With Cutout Front & 1930S Floral Trim MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our NYC Ateliér of rare antique materials sourced from...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Casual Dresses
- 1970S SAKS 5TH AVENUE Navy Silk Chiffon Ruffled GownLocated in New York, NY1970S SAKS 5TH AVENUE Navy Silk Chiffon Ruffled GownCategory
1970s Formal Gowns
- DOLCE & GABBANA black & white ROSE PRINT & LACE Dress 42By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Zürich, CHDolce & Gabbana shift dress in black and white viscose (82%) cotton (16%) nylon (2%) with a rose print and lace part at the bottom, stand-up collar, puffed shoulders, long sleeves wi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Casual Dresses