Versace’s First Ever Fashion Show In New York
Versace's First Ever Fashion Show In New York!
Expect The Unexpected
For Designer Donatella Versace, December 2nd will forever be marked as a special date for her massive Italian brand, Versace. On this momentous date, Versace held their pre-fall 2019 collection for the first time ever in downtown New York City. Over 65 iconic looks were presented to the public underneath a huge golden torch replica that was reminiscent of Lady Liberty. The show began with the model Kaia Gerber dressed in a shiny brown workwear attire paired with memorable liquid silk draped skirt and ended with the 90s supermodel Amber Valetta dressed in a 2018 remake of the V-neck dress that Jennifer Lopez wore to the Grammy Awards back in 2000.
As expected, the vibrant runway show was nothing short of fun, color, glamour and famous faces. In attendance for the star-studded event was a list of celebrity guests such as Kim and Kanye West, 2 Chainz, Teyana Taylor, Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Tracee Ellis Ross, Diane Kruger, Norman Reedus, Lupita Nyong'o, Blake Lively and Designer Alexander Wang (Images, 2018). Celebrity model stars like Emily Ratajkowski and Hailey Baldwin also walked the runway.
In addition to the success of the show being on December 2nd, 2019, the date also served as the 72nd birthday of Donatella Versace's late brother, Gianni Versace. Gianni found the Italian brand in 1978 and found tremendous success in the 1980s and 1990s until he tragically passed away in 1997. Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour stated that Gianni was the first designer to realize the value of celebrities in the front row, the value of supermodels and as a result, he put fashion on an international media platform (Versace News, 2018).
If there was any specific theme that was displayed at the show, it was definitely a lot to love shown to New York. Apart from looking at Milton Glaser's iconic "I Love NY" state logo combined with the Medusa logo on a Versace shirt on the runway, Versace proves that New York was certainly the best destination to host their first-ever runway show in America. The decision to hold the show in New York was made before Michael Kors Holdings acquired $2.1 billion of Versace in September. According to the Los Angeles Times, Donatella Versace likes the energy of the city and says that "There's freedom here. There's a clash of cultures. There's creativity." Versace also spent some time reminiscing about the great times she and her brother spent in New York back in 1995 (WWD, 2018).
"We had the house to New York was connected to me," Versace said. "I never sleep here. I'm never tired. I remember going to the clubs at five in the morning and walking in the snow in my high heels. I'm extreme. I like extremes."
During the show, the fashion crowd and A-list celebrities got a first look at the Versace pre-fall 2019 phenomenon. Both men and women models graced the show floor as they walked around a slick dark, black set. There were displays of black, yellow and gold iconic house prints, star patterns on scarf dresses, skirts, tops and leggings that were layered to cover up the models. There were also special nods to classic pieces like the famous candy-colored PVC Mod dresses paired with chunky sneakers and models with headscarves, sunglasses and body-tightening jersey dresses. In the overall collection, Versace seamlessly merged the old generation with the new generation by introducing a lot of ideas that were timeless, universal, glossy and extremely glamorous.
WWD, J. I. (2018, December 03). Versace swoops into New York to deliver a colorful pre-fall 2019 collection. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/fashion/la-ig-wwd-versace-pre-fall-show-2019-story.html
Versace News, Collections, Fashion Shows, Fashion Week Reviews, and More. (2018, December 05). Retrieved from https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/designer/versace
Images, R. R. (2018, December 03). Review: Versace's First Show in America Was So Much Fun. Retrieved from https://www.thecut.com/2018/12/versaces-first-show-in-america-reviewed.html