On what would have been the late Gianni Versace’s 72nd birthday, the Italian fashion house ventured across seas to New York for its first-ever Pre-Fall show. Held at the American Stock Exchange Building, the runway was a conglomeration of New York-inspired looks doused with revivals of some of Versace’s most iconic dresses.
Looking back to the Versace archives, Donatella reworked some of the brand’s most famous ’90s collections into new styles and silhouettes. Most notable amongst those was the Versace dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammys. Serving as the grand finale to the Pre-Fall 2019 show, Versace reissued the iconic gown in a new heart pattern. The look was worn by Amber Valetta, who also modeled the original design on the runway back in 1999 before it was made famous by JLo.
But that wasn’t the only iconic Versace dress to make a comeback during the show. The brand also revisited its memorable safety pin collection from Spring 1994, which gave us the iconic safety pin gown worn by Elizabeth Hurley on the red carpet that same year. Revisiting the famous style, Versace reimagined the dress in an updated one-sleeved style on the Pre-Fall ’19 runway.
While the show was clearly a nod to the legacy and nostalgia of Versace’s greatest moments, its New York location was also meant to be a celebration of freedom and empowerment, according to Donatella’s Instagram. Aside from a few “I Love NY” T-shirts, this was also evident by the powerful finale which took place around a giant sculpture of the Statue of Liberty’s torch.
And Gigi Hadid carrying a mini version of said torch, of course.
Despite being held on a rainy Sunday night, the event delivered a star-studded front row filled with A-listers like Lupita Nyong’o, Ciara, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, and more. Leave it to Donatella to make the biggest of splashes with her first-ever New York fashion show.
Source: Harpers Bazaar