If Dolce was Hyacinth Bucket’s wet dream of a three piece suite, then Versace is surely Hugh Hefner’s. You have to give it to Donatella Versace, who else sends out a collection you not only want to wear but also furnish your house in? Lets be honest, it’s the clothing equivalent of the French and Saunders Lucky Bitches sketch, what dreams of Joan and Jackie are made of. The homeware analogy really isn’t too far off.
This collection was all about ‘going big, going home’. Which in Versace parlance means a return to the founding hall marks of the house. Think animal print, juxtaposed with ultra saturated tartan, a generous smattering of Ancient Greek iconography, well its not Versace without at least one Medusa head, and a healthy injection of sex. At its very core, the collection was a homage to the classic codes of tailoring- is there really anything better than a well cut suit? But the devil is in the details, and it’s those details, mashed up with a punk-like aesthetic that set the whole apart, and sent a palpable frisson of excitement down the runway. All hail Donatella.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
