September 18, 2017 |
A distinct whiff of cowboy at Versus Versace today. Cowboys at the beach? How else to explain the appearance of a speedo with “VERSUS” spelt out in diamante on the behind? If anyone can get away with it, it’s Donatella. The lady herself talked us through the collection on Friday, telling us that the collection looked back to the nineties, and the old Versace Blue Jeans perfume bottles, with the guitar-strumming cowboy on the front. So her team made an entire collection based on the tropes of the cowboy – the yoked shirts, the studs – but she decided, last minute, she wanted to rip it all up and piece it back together.
It meant that the clothes here were stitched together like a collage – panels of duchesse satin with exposed stitching, tailoring cut into v-shaped chevrons at the back, mesh mini dresses with studded cowboy panels. “Versus is about individuality, bravery and pleasure,” she said. “This is for everyone who dares to express themselves in everything they do.” And where better to hold a show about expressing yourself than the hallowed halls of Central Saint Martins? Donatella said most of her team studied there – so today’s show came with the announcement of the Gianni Versace scholarship, giving full financial support for a student starting the MA program this Autumn. Here’s to a new generation.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd Evans
