"It's Versace, not Versacee". It is a legacy, a story, a pinnacle of style and of womanhood. Started by Gianni Maria Versace in 1987, the brand epitomized 90's sexiness, glamour, and industry influence. The bold prints, the simple, flawless silhouettes, and the sparkling desire, all coming together to concoct the physicality of the powerful and confident presence of those adorning the clothing and qualities. When Gianni was tragically assassinated, the blood of his legacy still flowed through the veins of creation and industrial superiority. What I will be discussing today, is the woman who kept the flow moving. Donatella, Gianni's sister, seems to have seen a fair amount of adversity and bereavement, and all in the eyes of the public media. She battled personal struggle, all the while maintaining and building her and her Brother's legacy, with a new sense of flirtatiousness, quirk, and audaciousness. In the years following shortly after her role became more than a muse and advisor, the new creative director, Donatella, suffered addiction, grief, anxiety, and the pressure and critique from the world and from herself. What makes Donatella such an admirable female role model is her ability to form and move past scars, all the while cultivating a legacy and an empire. Today Versace is still one of the most promulgated, profitable, and desirable fashion corporations in the world, and is worth about 1.4 billion dollars. Industry superstars, top models, and celebrities all flock to Milan shows, to witness a first look at Versace's newest collection. Donatella is a good designer, But her remarkable understanding of women, and a keen talent for business is how she has not only held onto Versace, but has let it fly.
There seems to be a formula when it comes to Donatella's recent collections. There are three main prospects I always seem to find as I watch models strut down the runways.
One: classic, signature, and cosmopolitan outlines and essences of glamour, often in black.
Two: trendy, contemporary pieces, that epitomize the urban street style, that has been so prominent.
Three: references of the past, infusing the collection with nostalgia, memory, and warmth.
This recipe is expertly crafted in order to sustain and thrill a large audience by giving them what she knows they want to wear, what they want to be seen wearing, and what they want to seen being worn. The Versace brand dramatically emphasizes the clothing and inspirations, inhibiting these manipulations. A couple years ago, the memorial collection was exhibited, commemorating Gianni's work by re-creating past creations and showcasing them on the runway. The simple sterility of the setting, the voice over of Donatella, and the assemblage of models, new and old came together to create a beautiful, moving, and powerful ceremony. It highlighted not only Gianni's designs, but his impact on fashion, and on individuals, and the relationship he had with his sister and with all women. The show reminded the world why it loved Versace. It's remarkable clothing, it's relationship with models, the beautiful way that it celebrated women, and most of all, the story it had, and the characters that devised it.
Although not going as far as to base every piece off of past work, Donatella and the Versace team still use incorporations of nostalgia to revitalize the past, and keep the future afloat. Last season was the reinvention of the safety pin dress, while this season is reminiscent to the jungle dress, made by Donatella, worn by Jennifer Lopez, and creator of Google images. The dress helped Donatella gain recognition in the brand, and as a designer. After referencing Gianni's work in some recent collections, critics have accused the woman of falling back on her brother's genius, after beginning to lack in creative ability. However, the diva, the muse, the business mogul, and the creative director of Versace took the fall of 2019 to remind the universe that she too has a significant creative branding that has helped build the legacy of the fashion community. Jennifer Lopez's dress at the 2003 grammy's was memorable, different, provocative, and the tackiness was acceptable and endearing. The influence of the print was direct, and an absence of rigor was refreshing. This branding has held up, and in different forms has reoccured time and time time again. Donatella's designs reminisce the 90s and the 2000s, with Gianni's illustrations of glamour and perfection, and her own fun and fierce concoctions. While memories is a big part of a versace runway, it is not the only inspiration, and prospect. It is simply the aspect that is exaggerated and emphasized to the public. It is what filters the recent collections, and a prominent emphasis and story is what sells something. Think of a Taylor swift album, and how each one holds recollections of something personal and specific. Everything has to have a persona and a hook to be sold and to be captivating, and inhibiting those is what versace is doing so well. Whether it's a first show in New York, a memorial to Gianni, an expression of culture, or Jennifer Lopez, Versace finds a way to make every collection seem special. They make each factor and influence delineated and advertised through backdrops and instagram captions, and the publicity achieved is extensive.
Speaking of publicity, One piece of Versace history, that is incredibly substantial in how it is remembered, and in how it continues to make a scene, is its relationship with supermodels. Dating back to late eighties, a versace fashion show has always had an all star cast, with regulars being Cindy Crawford and Naomi Cambell. Now, It still seems like it must be a privilege and an honor to walk in a show, and every season, top models still confidently strut down the runway, continuing a lucky flow. This is held within Versace's realm of personage, with the clothing not only being incredibly expressive, but by being accompanied by a person, holding recognition, and establishment, showing it through their assemblage and demeanor.
Personage. It is what makes up Versace, and has given it success and admiration. While every brand has its own prominent characters and fixtures, their design in itself is usually what makes them a selling component. However in this case, Versace is not a part of the people, but rather, the people are Versace. The usage of it's own story and memories in a Versace collection is a key component, because while it started as house of impeccable design, through the years it has gained a reputation, and a sense of loyalty, and family love that it needs to withhold. Every show of every house, has it's inspirations and it's qualities that are distinguishable to the brand's codes, aesthetics, and history. What Versace has done, is make memoriam a part of that compilation, due to the remarkable history and recognizability that specific pieces of its clothing have. In fact, many brands also reinstate and renovate signature silhouettes, prints, etc. through the years. However, Versace dramatically accentuates their act of doing this, because their history is just more established and acknowledged by the brand and by the public. While Gianni started the brand, Donatella continued and reinvented it in certain ways. The brand is both of them, so of course each of their histories and creations have to be integrated into a collection. The loyalty, strength, humor, and glamour that makes up Donatella's public personage is key in the public's love affair for Versace, because well in a way, she is Versace. That is how the brand is still so recognized and adored. When Donatella leaves, as creative director, however, I personally believe that the brand will not falter, because although specific characters has made Versace so special, they have also created a brand's reputation where every character is notable and looked towards. When a new creative director steps up, their new, and fresh design will just be stated into a line of substantial personalities, as well as gaining yet more curiosity and publicity for the brand.
Versace, with these aspects, has managed to keep itself in its iconic, historic aura. Dating back to the main prospects, I stated, the third is most prominent in achieving this, although the classic, and commercial pieces help achieve this as well, in maintaining a sense of timelessness and predictability. However, through the incorporations of modern trends, futuristic assemblages, and of course commemoration, Versace eases itself into a timeline of not just the past and present, but one of forever. Versace, although relatively new, compared to houses like Dior and Chanel, has successfully established itself, historically, and creatively. It is hence, both timeless and modern, and everyone from customers to commenters are able to have a connection with the clothing, through its references, recognization, and through the sad, brilliant, and beautiful events that have led up to it.
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