The gentlemen of Versace– that was Donatella Versace’s inspo for her Spring menswear outing. You don’t normally think of the Versace man as a gentleman, to be honest. You think of him as a great hulking Rambo in barocco leopard print with a waxed chest and acres of muscular thigh on show. Maybe you think that because of the label’s immediately-identifiable Bruce Weber ads of the nineties? They just shot another – packed with hunks, as evidenced by a video projection before Donatella’s latest show got underway. But back to the gentlemen – it made sense. Because the Versace man this season was more refined and elegant than of usual – albeit with a slick sportswear feel. Those billowing, wide-open Versace shirts of yore were translated into billowing parkas. Granted, sometimes above rippling musculature, but sometimes over a nice suit. Or a bit of activewear – everyone’s always at the gym these days, after all (Donatella included), so what better occasion to showcase a new sportswear line? It was mixed in with tailored stuff, rather than showcased alone. Joggers with suit jackets have never looked so good.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans
