Gianni Versace ladybug printed silk bustier corset, ss 1995
View Similar Items
Gianni Versace ladybug printed silk bustier corset, ss 1995
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: FR 38 - IT 42 - UK 10 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU14029022442
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. 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,” Versace once explained. Instead, he had a sexy good time with fashion — as he did with life. Today, vintage Gianni Versace clothing, handbags and other accessories look astonishingly fresh and freshly relevant.
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 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.
- Vivienne Westwood Toile de Jouy cotton corset, ss 1996By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood white cotton corset ▪ Blue 'Toile de Jouy' print ▪ Boned stomacher ▪ Matching printed overlay with lace-up fastening and fold-over collar ▪ String ties on the s...Category
1990s English Corsets
- Vivienne Westwood white jersey Conduit Street corset, ss 2002By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Vivienne Westwood corset top ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Spring-Summer 2002 ▪ White cotton jersey ▪ Black text print of a Vivienn...Category
1990s Corsets
- Prada by Miuccia Prada grey and green crocheted wool bra top, fw 2017By Prada, Miuccia PradaLocated in London, GB▪ Prada knitted bra top ▪ Designed by Miuccia Prada ▪ Crocheted grey, green and black pure new wool ▪ Bow detail at the centre-front ▪ Snap-button closure...Category
2010s Italian Bras
- Vivienne Westwood grey corset with Thomas Gainsborough dog print, fw 1992By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GB▪ Rare Vivienne Westwood grey corset top ▪ Dog print from a detail of Thomas Gainsborough's - Tristam and Fox c. 1775–85 ▪ Red bow applique ▪ Centre-back ...Category
1990s British Corsets
- Vivienne Westwood white and grey checked corset, ss 1994By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood white and grey checked corset - designed to cinch the waist and push the breasts up. Spring-Summer 1994Category
1990s British Corsets
- Christian Lacroix Haute Couture Crystal Adorned Mr. Pearl Corset, ss 1996By Christian LacroixLocated in London, GB▪ Archival Christian Lacroix Mr. Pearl Corset ▪ Haute Couture, Spring-Summer 1996, Look #53 ▪ Sold by One of a Kind Archive ▪ Museum Grade Introducing the Archival Christian Lacroix Corset...Category
1990s French Corsets
- Edwardian Cream Embroidered Cotton Voile & Lace Tea Dress With Empire WaistlineLocated in New York, NYEdwardian Cream Embroidered Cotton Voile & Lace Tea Dress With Empire Waistline And Half SleevesCategory
Early 1800s Loungewear
- Pink and Brown Pucci Shirt DressBy Emilio PucciLocated in New York, NYPink and Brown Pucci light weight nylon jersey shirt dress for Formfit Rogers. Designed originally as loungewear for home wear, these versatile packable pi...Category
1960s American Loungewear
- 1930 pale blue hand embroidered silk combinaisonLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRpale blue hand embroidered silkCategory
1930s French Lingerie
- 1930 pale blue silk lingerie combinaisonLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRpale blue silk lingerie combinaison with appliqué and top-stitching on the bust. Cut in biaisCategory
1930s French Lingerie
- 1930 Off-white embroidered silk combinaisonLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FROff-white embroidered silkCategory
1930s French Lingerie
- Silk Crepe Caftan, Renata, ParisLocated in New York, NYRenata Silk Crepe Caftan in chocolate brown with orange piping. Garment is basically a large rectangle of silk crepe folded in half at shoulder, and tacked ...Category
1970s French Loungewear
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
This Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen Ensemble Is Part Zsa Zsa Gabor, Part ‘Blade Runner’
As Burton steps away from the brand, it’s a fitting time to revisit one of her visionary designs.
Vivienne Westwood’s Punk Spirit Lives On in This ’90s Tartan Ensemble
The shorts suit in a mash-up of patterns with an asymmetrical cut speaks to the designer’s rebellious spirit.