If anyone wondered just what a Capri Holdings Ltd-owned Versace would look like following the $2 billion acquisition, Donatella Versace used her autumn/winter 19 men’s show to provide an emphatic answer by drawing a line under her Milan-based house signatures. As sharp tailored suits with safety pin details walked next to see-through plastic pants and bondage-printed silk shirts soundtracked by the echoes of RuPaul proclaiming “Shantay, you stay. Sashay away,” she was reflecting on gender fluidity, encouraging a shape-shifting masculinity that pushes boundaries and the message with
“In the 90s there was such a specific idea of a man but, since then, fashion has evolved dramatically and today one cannot define men in just that same, clear way,” Donatella mused in her show notes. “Everything has changed, and today’s society allows everyone a greater freedom to express themselves with their clothes as well as with their actions,” she continued. So as the collection reminded us of houses codes, it also continued conversations around gender that recent fashion weeks have delved ever deeper into.
For Versace, the answer lies in empowering people to explore and express the various aspects of their character through their style choices. “What I wanted to show in this collection are the different facets of a man, who, like everyone, dresses according to the occasion and has gained the courage that he didn’t have before. If I had to find a word that defines today’s men, it would be daring.” From the wipe-clean transparent macs to the tailoring finished with flashes of neon marabou and the baroque printed tracksuits, it was Versace, not Korsace.
The opening look was a harness printed shirt and leather trousers — the first of many pieces that paid homage to Gianni’s provocatively iconic autumn/winter 92 show, Miss S&M. There was faux fur leopard print everything, including hair. Bella Hadid wore harness strapped separates and Emily Ratajkowski wore a LBD of lace and leather.
The majestic matriarch that is Donatella Versace used an interview with Alexander Fury and the Financial Times to set the record straight. “I don’t know why people thought Versace is becoming like Michael Kors? A medium, lower line. I mean with all due respect to Michael Kors . . . ” she explained with tongue firmly in cheek. Slay, Queen! Versace will always reach for the stars, Versace will always be luxury. “The thing that is very important for us to underline is that Versace will always be a luxury brand. We don’t produce one item outside of Italy. I’m very proud to say that. This is a strategy.” Staying true to the strategy and staying true to the house DNA,.
As the saying goes, a leopard never changes its spots. Ok so the Milan-based luxury house may have a new owner but this is the same Donatella and the same Versace. Now let’s never mention the word Korsace ever again.
Credits
Photography @Mitchell_Sams