Paris honours Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, 80 years after his birth

The Maillol Museum in Paris opens an exhibition this Friday devoted to the work of Italian designer Gianni Versace (1946–1997), whose ensembles and designs rank among the most celebrated in fashion history, marking the 80th anniversary of his birth.

The exhibition, titled “Gianni Versace. Retrospective”, traces the designer’s journey from his early influences on the shores of the Mediterranean, in his native Reggio Calabria in southern Italy, to Paris’s most exclusive catwalks, and will run throughout the summer.

Speaking to EFE, the producer of the exhibition, Vincent Barreneche, explained that this retrospective is an adaptation of a show previously staged in cities such as Málaga, London and Berlin and, on each occasion, has been reconfigured to “explain the links” that connect the artist with each place.

“In London, for example, the emphasis was more on personalities — British music stars and supermodels — which we are also presenting in Paris. Here, however, the focus is on the settings and atmospheres typical of Gianni Versace,” he noted, referring to the many exhibitions the designer staged in the city.

To tailor the exhibition to its Paris staging, it includes a recreation of his atelier and a selection of dresses first shown in the French capital, as well as an extensive display of objects and archival materials relating to the fashion capital.

In total, 120 ensembles by the house, along with hundreds of accessories, photographs and magazines, are divided into 12 sections, each highlighting a facet or creative phase of the famed designer.

The exhibition — a “red thread” that follows Versace’s life, in Barreneche’s words — includes sections such as “Magna Grecia”, which explores the classical influences of the ancient Mediterranean on his designs, and “Barocco”, which reflects his embrace of the ostentation with which the brand is associated today.

To these can be added sections such as “Vanitas”, “Supermodel” and “Rock & Royalty”, which illustrate the house’s close relationship with celebrities of all kinds, with figures ranging from Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997), to Tupac Shakur (1971–1996), a rapper associated with street gangs.

“That was part of Gianni Versace’s magic: he was a man open to the world, and open to all styles. He liked styles that were very authentic and elegant, and also very street and hip-hop, drawn from urban culture,” he said.

This distinctive elegance attracted personalities such as Elton John, Prince, Madonna and Sylvester Stallone, and led to groundbreaking moves such as the introduction of unisex looks at a time when the most famous designers ‘worked mainly for women’.

“A well-known saying in 1980s Italy was that Giorgio Armani dressed the wife and Gianni Versace dressed the mistress. This line encapsulates the style and the highly provocative dimension of Gianni Versace’s work,” he explained.

Gianni Versace (1946–1997) is regarded as one of the most important designers in the history of fashion; his name became synonymous with prestige in the 1980s and 1990s, after a meteoric rise cut short in 1997 when he was shot dead outside the front door of his home in Miami, at the age of 50.