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The Story of

Versace

DESIGNER DOSSIER · Januar 2017

New for Youth

In design and style, Versace’s children’s line emulates their adult collections, with thoughtful adaptations, more subtle colours and youthful cuts. Children can fall in love with miniature versions of Versace accessories; small bags, belts and shoes that perfectly match and complement their outfits.

More Versace... Shop

Young Versace

Versace is a family-run company with family at it’s core. Naturally, even the youngest members of that family are included in the brand’s offerings. Gianni Versace was in love with ‘the New’ and now, Versace creates fashion for the newest, modern generation.

Perfect For…

Kids who love colour, accessories and high fashion with a modern edge.

Young Versace Spring/Summer Campaign 2017

The Versace Story

The Birth of Extravagance

1946: A young boy, son of a dressmaker, spends his childhood playing among the fabrics and sewing machines of a couture workshop. 

With ribbons and silks for playthings, Gianni Versace watched daily as his mother, Franca and a team of 45 other dressmakers worked. Fashion was his birthright, his earliest influence, and the Italian dressmaking studio was his playground.

In the town of Reggio Calabria, with its ancient Greek ruins and Roman baths, the young Versace was inspired and shaped by his surroundings. Already passionate about fashion, he would later use the aesthetic of his birth town to create some of his most iconic works.

These visual influences imprinted themselves on the young creative’s brain. But something else inspired Versace beyond Grecian motifs and Italian Baroque – life itself. Culture. Love, modernity, and above all, ‘The New’. Versace was seemingly born with a combination of talent, and a curiosity for that which was new.

His thirst for novelty stayed with him and inspired his work for life.

In the beginning of his career Versace didn’t have to leave the dressmaking studio – he began working there, alongside his mother, when he left school. He honed his skills and headed to Milan, which he considered a centre for fashion.

 

Gianni Versace in early years
The Iconic Medusa Head
Versace Boutique in Milano

The family-orientated Versace liked working with his mother. Keen to continue building his career with his family, in 1978, he teamed up with his brother Santo to found the eponymous company. The brothers introduced their first women’s wear line in Spring and men’s wear line in the Autumn of that year.

The feedback they received about their first collections was somewhat diverse. The majority of the industry as well as the press viewed them as ‘vulgar’ and their style as ‘cartoonish’, but the collection was well-received by their target audience, who admired Versace’s extravagant designs and neo-baroque pieces. The business went from strength to strength.

Gianni Versace had many celebrity clients and friends. He was the first fashion designer to intelligently link celebrity with fashion, particularly with fashion shows, making good use of the prominent first row and utilising subsequent publicity. This further facilitated Versace’s growth into an icon.

His curiosity for knowledge and culture never waned. He devoured books, frequented museums and was an avid art collector. Many of the things he saw, read and experienced informed his designs. Soon he felt ready to launch ‘Atelier Versace’, the brand’s first haute couture collections, to their brand’s portfolio.

"I think it´s the responsibility of a designer to try to break rules and barriers."
Gianni Versace

Signature Style

Greek Gods Meet Modern Street -Style

After successfully offering adults’ wear for several years, the founding brothers’ sister, Donatella, designed and launched the label’s first children’s line. ‘Young Versace’ was launched in 1993.

A year later came the launch of the ‘Versus’ line, which was aimed at a younger, fashion-forward audience with a more accessible price tag. Donatella took over the company together with Santo after Gianni passed away in 1997. To this day, the company remains family-run.

Over the years the house Versace extended their product range with jewellery lines, leather goods and accessories.

In the 1980s/1990s Versace gained global recognition. Due to Gianni’s creation of stage outfits for theatre plays and world famous celebrities, such as Elton John, the brand Versace was suddenly highly desirable. A number of high-profile supermodels such as Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista modelled for the fashion house during this period of time. It was the green jungle dress with many low and high-waist cut-outs worn by Jennifer Lopez in 2000 to the AMAs (American Music Awards) that not only made the singer stand out but also gave the brand Versace a lot of brand recognition.

Screamingly vibrant colours, edgy cuts, extravagant materials and extraordinary designs mark the style of Versace. Gianni Versace took his inspiration from eclectic sources such as the art of Andy Warhol, or Greek Mythology, hence the brand’s iconic Greek Key and Medusa logo and hallmark.

Gianni Versace: The main facts

Young Versace Today

Ever Iconic with a Splash of Futurism

Young Versace still represents the main children’s collections for both girls and boys. In addition, the company carries the following adult lines: ‘Versace Couture’, being the main line and ‘Versace Collection’ representing the a younger more affordable collection. 

Versace has also branched into interior design, offering homewear and specially-made interiors for airplanes and cars.

One can feel and see the influence and family bond that was brought and influenced by its founder Gianni Versace in the brands’ designs and style until today.

Versace Fashion Show Summer Collection 2017
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