Versace Jeans Couture floral print open back silk dress, early 2000s
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 44 in (111.76 cm)Marked Size: 42 (EU)Bust: 11 in (27.94 cm)Waist: 12 in (30.48 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Milano, IT
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU3592219497602
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: Milano, Italy
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Roberto Cavalli animal print dress, Resort 2014By Roberto CavalliLocated in Milano, IT- Runway Look 3 - Sold by Skof.Archive - Animal print lycra dress - Above knee-length - Crew-neck - Fit regalar to the body - Resort 2014 Size: FR 38 - ...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Valentino Early 2000s Floral pattern silk chiffon halter evening dressBy ValentinoLocated in Milano, IT- Designed by Valentino Garavani - Sold by Skof.Archive - Green, yellow, purple and red print silk flower motif - Halter evening dress - Open bac...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière Resort 2009 b&w asymmetric cocktail dressBy Balenciaga, Nicolas GhesquièreLocated in Milano, IT- Resort 2009 - Sold by Skof.Archive - Designed by Ghesquière - Black and white all over printed asymmetric cocktail dress - Sleveless - Hidden side zipper closure - Draped asymm...Category
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
- Gucci S/S 2006 Chocolate brown backless halter bamboo cocktail dressBy GucciLocated in Milano, IT- Designed by Frida Giannini - Sold by Skof.Archive - Bamboo clasp detail - Open-back brown cocktail dress - Fitted to the body - Spring Summer...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Alberta Ferretti plum velvet and chiffon open back evening dress, fw 2007By Alberta FerrettiLocated in Milano, IT- Runway Look 55 - Sold by Skof.Archive - Plum velvet evening dress - Open back - Asymmetric American neckline - Hidden side zipper - Fall Winter 2007 Size : FR 42 - EN 46 - UK 1...Category
Early 2000s Italian Aesthetic Evening Dresses
- Max Mara black lycra open back buckle dress, early 2000sLocated in Milano, IT- Above knee-length - Sold by Skof.Archive - Open back cocktail dress - Early 2000s - Front slit - American neckline with adjustable buckle details - Removable belt - Internal leo...Category
Early 2000s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Linda Cunningham Taupe Silk Gown w/ Multi Floral Lace & 3 Tier Ruffle Bust - 10Located in West Palm Beach, FLLinda Cunningham Taupe Silk Gown w/ Multi Floral Lace & 3 Tier Ruffle Bust - 10. This gorgeous gown is in excellent condition. It features a taupe silk material, three tier ruffle ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Evening Gowns
- 1970s Robert Janan Grey Novelty Print Maxi DressLocated in London, GBThis 1970s Robert Janan novelty print dress is made from a soft jersey acrylic material in an ultra-long A-line cut. It has a scooped neckline, long sleev...Category
1970s American Maxi Dress
- 1970s Ossie Clark for Radley Celia Birtwell Bubble Print Smock DressLocated in London, GBThis charming circa 1969 cotton dress by Ossie Clark for Radley boasts a pretty 'bubble' print by celebrated textile designer Celia Birtwell. This piece is pretty and gamine with pu...Category
1960s British Day Dresses
- 1980s Donald Campbell Printed Floral Cotton Organdy Maxi DressLocated in London, GB1980s printed cotton organdy dress is by British designer Donald Campbell who created beautiful, individually cut ready to wear pieces from quality coutu...Category
1980s British Maxi Dress
- 1990s Bespoke Embellished Lace and Crystal Turquoise DressLocated in London, GBThis magnificent 1990s bespoke made embellished lace and crystal dress is a fairytale dream. The top section features a heavily crystal studded lace an...Category
1990s Italian Ball Gowns
- 1930s Grey and Gold Lame Floral Print DressLocated in London, GBThis absolutely enchanting vintage 1930s full length dress in dove grey textured silk with gold lame floral design is in beautiful antique condition. The dress features an empire lin...Category
1930s British Evening Dresses and Gowns