Vintage Versace?

July 29, 2011

Scarf prints, bondage straps, studded leathers—fashion is having a vintage Versace moment. That fact hasn’t been lost on Donatella Versace herself: She brought the house down last month with a menswear show that paid homage to the motifs that her late brother Gianni made famous in the eighties and early nineties. Back then, glamazon supermodels—Gianni’s designs helped make Linda, Christy, Naomi, and Cindy household names—and celeb friends alike endorsed Versace’s singular brand of fearless sexuality. (Case in point: the infamous Elizabeth Hurley safety pin dress.)

These days, Lady Gaga is flying the Versace flag. In early June, the superstar told a reporter, “I’m wearing only Versace for, like, the next two months,” and Donatella opened up the house’s archives for her to oblige. Nor is La Gaga the only one feeling the maximalist urge. On recent runways like Givenchy’s and Mary Katrantzou’s as well as Versace’s own, bolder was better. And this November, the high street gets in on the action, too, with the launch of a Versace for H&M collection, which will reportedly reinterpret the house’s greatest hits.

CLICK FOR OUR SLIDESHOW, and let us know what you think about the vintage Versace comeback.

—Brittany Adams

Photo: Frederic Andrieu / Condé Nast Archive

tags: Cindy Crawford, Donatella Versace, Elizabeth Hurley, Gianni Versace, Givenchy, H&M, Lady Gaga, Linda Evangelista, Mary Katrantzou, Naomi Campbell, Versace