Dress

Design House Gianni Versace Italian
Designer Gianni Versace Italian

Not on view

Gianni Versace was known for his opulent and figure-hugging designs, with references to his Italian heritage pervading the collections. This combination of an embellished chainmail toga with a bias-cut slip dress exemplifies Versace's fascination for antiquity and his skill of draping metal mesh fluidly around the body. The joining together of the materials shows the construction of the garment instead of concealing it; this postmodern practice is a forerunner to the deconstructionist approach to fashion of the 1990s, when Versace used safety pins to hold together the fabric.

Dress, Gianni Versace (Italian, founded 1978), silk, metal, glass, Italian

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