There is nothing Versace can’t do bigger, better, and bolder than the competition, especially when it comes to the runway show. The iconic Italian brand is known for creating a spectacle with its supermodel-filled casts and bombastic shows. While Donatella and co. turn out a larger-than-life experience each and every season, some moments were truly unforgettable. Take a look back at a few of the boldest things to ever happen on the Versace runway.
Freedom!
Gianni Versace’s connection with the supermodels is the stuff of legend. More than simply using the beauties on his runway, the designer played an instrumental role in elevating them to the status of icons. The moment Linda, Cindy, Naomi, and Christy traipsed down Versace’s Fall 1991 catwalk to the strains of George Michael’s “Freedom! ’90,” history was made. The moment captured the glamour and free-spirited energy that embodied the ’90s fashion scene and is every bit as relevant and eye-catching today as it was two decades ago.
S&M
Versace’s bondage silhouettes have inspired countless imitators, but none hold a candle to the original. As worn on the Fall 1992 catwalk by supermodels Helena Christensen, Carla Bruni, and Linda Evangelista, the designs were innately sensual. Years later the designs are still turning heads with Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus digging into the Versace archives for red carpet looks.
In the Pink
In the ’90s, Kate Moss’s hair color used to change with regularity, but her debut of a candy-pink coif on the catwalk for Versace was especially surprising. Sporting a turquoise mini and long neon strands, Moss injected a dose of punk into the Versace repertoire.
That Dress—You Know the One
In February 2000, Jennifer Lopez would appear at the Grammys in green Versace chiffon and break both the Internet not to mention national television. But months earlier, Amber Valletta introduced the world to the very same creation during Donatella’s sexed-up Spring 2000 show, setting tongues wagging and priming the fashion set for Lopez’s red carpet moment. A perennial favorite of the house, Valletta opened or closed multiple Versace shows, but none quite as risqué as this one.
The New Generation
For a brand so readily associated with its faces, Versace has had no trouble embracing changes within the modeling industry. When the pendulum swung away from glamazons and toward baby-faced beauties, Donatella was right there, ready to embrace the new aesthetic. For the designer’s Spring 2014 Atelier Versace show, all the brand’s just-minted favorites were on display, from a taut and toned Karlie Kloss to the perma-pouty Lindsey Wixson.
Ooh, Naomi!
Naomi Campbell has graced Versace’s runway countless times over the years, but at the Fall 2013 Atelier Versace show, her presence—and barely there ensemble—elicited wolf whistles and shouts from the enraptured audience.
Dark Drama
Goth isn’t a term typically associated with Donatella Versace, but for her Spring 2003 couture show, the designer transformed Eva Herzigova and Georgina Grenville into leather-and-lace-clad sylphs. The special presentation was minus the runway theatrics and viewed only by a select set of clients and editors, but the power of the garments spoke volumes.
The Men
Versace has always given its menswear extravaganzas the same pomp and circumstance it brings to its women’s shows, and this year Donatella brought back two of her all-time favorites. Iconic male models Scott Barnhill and Ivan de Pineda returned to the runway just for Donatella.
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