When you examine the history of the house of Versace, expect to find the spirit of its founder still roaming this Fabergé egg-like universe. Though murdered 14 years ago, Gianni Versace continues to live on — and live large — through his sister Donatella, who has been tasked with bringing the label into the future. That said, is a team-up with a Swedish megaretailer the way to do it?
As far as collaborations go, the Versace-H&M pairing is likely to go down as one of the most ambitious, if not one of the oddest, in the high street chain’s résumé. Stella McCartney, Karl Lagerfeld, Alber Elbaz for Lanvin —those past unions somehow made sense. But Versace? While diluting its over-the-top ’80s aesthetic for wider distribution must have posed certain challenges —cheaper materials, for one thing — it appears that this capsule collection will cause the usual hysteria when it hits select stores in November.
Greatest Hits Tribute
The ad campaign, featuring Sasha Pivovarova, Lindsey Wixson and Daphne Groeneveld, reads like a greatest-hits tribute to Versace’s heyday: studded leather jackets punctuated with the familiar Greek key motif, and palm-tree and leopard-print ensembles that evoke the world of the supermodels. The men’s preview, as worn by model River Viiperi, is just as heady and celebratory of the Italian company’s legacy, especially the decadent suit that seems to borrow a shade of pink from Jil Sander Autumn/Winter 2011. Donatella was wise to have dubbed this broad overture “The Very Best of Versace for H&M.”
Clearly, this mass market conga line of medallion details and rope designs is an attempt to rekindle some of the old magic, as the house looks to have struggled during the greater part of the 2000s. According to Newsweek, annual sales dropped from $1 billion in 1997 — the year serial killer Andrew Cunanan ended Gianni Versace’s life on the steps of Casa Casuarina, the designer’s South Beach home — to less than half that in 2007. In 2009, Glasgow native Christopher Kane, widely acknowledged to be the brightest talent to emerge from London’s Central Saint Martins in the past half decade, formally began his revival of Versus, the more youthful secondary line that was shuttered in 2004.
How To Wear It
Last year, UK zines Hero and Supersuper gave their respective preambles to the apparent Versace renaissance. The former, through an editorial featuring model and skateboarder Keno, mined the archives and mixed iconic early ’90s Versace pieces with mesh caps, backpacks, and items from more recent seasons. The latter, meanwhile, suggested updating the original Versace look for the Oh-Ten era by investing in a slim-fitting silk shirt covered by a huge Medusa print or any other figure of Greek mythology. Similar to the ones favored by the late rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996, it’s “a statement piece, like walking around with a Botticelli or a golden Grecian chariot across your chest, so wear it with pride!”
Admittedly Versace can border on tacky, but there’s a way to make the Disney colors and baroque influences less victimy. For example, you can bring the Op Art print pants from the H&M venture down to earth with a tailored chambray shirt and beat up suede bucks. And if you must liberate your inner Louis XIV, bring the rococo bang up to date with carrot, banana or bow-leg trousers, or under a slimmer-cut double-breasted jacket. Think of it as your way to help make the brand’s heritage part of today’s fashion dialogue. I’m sure Donatella and Gianni — wherever he is right now — would appreciate the homage.
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