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Dress

Design House Gianni Versace Italian
Designer Gianni Versace Italian
spring/summer 1994, edition 2016
Not on view
Both celebrated and censured for their heightened sensuality, the designs of Gianni Versace epitomized a branch of Italian style redolent with glitz, flash, and celebrity that rose to prominence during the 1980s and 1990s. This infamous take on the little black dress, among the house’s most iconic pieces, is deceptively well structured, despite the effortless cling conveyed by the fabric. The deep V neck and exposed sides are both supported with lines of boning, while the bust is lightly padded. By 1994, when a punk revival was underway in fashion, the kilt pins that bridge the seductive gaps in this garment had come to replace the safety pin that signified the 1970s movement. This luxurious interpretation of the pin, however, is entirely in the Versace vernacular: gilt and topped with crystal-encrusted Medusa-head closures.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Dress
  • Design House: Gianni Versace (Italian, founded 1978)
  • Designer: Gianni Versace (Italian, 1946–1997)
  • Date: spring/summer 1994, edition 2016
  • Culture: Italian
  • Medium: silk, metal, synthetic
  • Credit Line: Gift of Donatella and Allegra Versace, in honor of Harold Koda, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.633
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

More Artwork

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Ensemble, Gianni Versace Italian, leather, polyester, plastic, Italian
Ensemble
Gianni Versace
spring/summer 1980
Underwear, Gianni Versace Italian, cotton/lycra blend, elastic, Italian
Underwear
Gianni Versace
ca. 2000
Bathing trunks, Gianni Versace Italian, cotton/synthetic, elastic, Italian
Bathing trunks
Gianni Versace
ca. 1998
Skirt, Gianni Versace Italian, wool/synthetic blend, synthetic, metal, Italian
Skirt
Gianni Versace
Istante
ca. 1992
Ensemble, Gianni Versace Italian, (a) silk, metal, glass; (b, c) leather, silk, metal, glass, Italian
Ensemble
Gianni Versace
fall/winter 1991–92

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