September 24, 2022 |
Donatella goes goth. High-glamour and hard-edged are how Italian fashion’s high priestess described the Versace woman this season. “I have always loved a rebel. A woman who is confident, smart and a little bit of a diva,” wrote the designer in her show notes. “She is a strong liberated woman; she is gorgeous; she knows it. She is the Goddess of Freedom.”
Circling a glass box littered with candles, out came a procession of all-black Versace looks. Jersey was slashed to expose slithers of flesh, fringed leather jackets were cut roomy and popcorn tops were now Versace-fied by way of The Craft. Like her Milan contemporaries, Donatella updates the codes of Y2K to feel attuned to the now. She paired cargo trousers beneath slip dresses and bulldozed together zebra and floral prints across grungy prom dresses in purple and fuchsia. And if that wasn’t enough nostalgia for you, a parade of lace-infused baby-doll and gothic wedding dresses (with matching veils) came bookended by Miss Noughties herself, Paris Hilton, in her own glittered Versace hot pink mini. Now that’s hot.
Photography courtesy of Versace.
