Aug 7

Aug 7 Gianni Versace Retrospective - the man who revolutionised fashion

It’s so much the norm now to see celebrities on the front row and even on the catwalk itself at fashion shows that it’s hard to understand just what a seismic change it was when Gianni Versace became the first designer to recognise the potential of marrying the two worlds, merging fashion with pop culture through his collaborations with pop stars like Elton John and George Michael.

Versace’s collaboration with Elton John turned into a close friendship

Versace was also the designer credited with creating the supermodels of the ‘80s, rocketing the careers (and earnings) of the likes of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington to stratospheric levels.

For his autumn/winter 1991 show in Milan, Versace sent all four supermodels models down the catwalk together, a moment that has gone down in fashion history

Now, 28 years after he was shockingly murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach home, a dazzling retrospective of Gianni Versace’s ground-breaking work is showcasing 450 original pieces created by the designer whose bold, colourful, opulent creations were, and continue to be, instantly recognisable.

The exhibition explores how his roots in Reggio Calabria, a small Italian town with a rich cultural history, played a pivotal role in shaping his artistic vision. How he learnt his sewing craftsmanship from watching and helping his dressmaker mother (he apparently designed his first dress aged 9) and how he developed the vibrant colours and iconic motifs he used in so many of his designs, like the Medusa head which became the symbol of his brand.

Examples of Versace’s colourful bold designs, and his skill with simplicity

For all his creative flamboyance, glamorous lifestyle and celebrity and royal (we’ll come to that in a mo) friendships, Gianni’s skill as a tailor and craftsman, developing and working with fabrics in ways that often hadn’t been done before, were what underpinned his huge success.

Versace was a master at working with Oroton, a metal mesh fabric which he used for many of his designs

The exhibition gives an insight into his design processes and how key his intensely interactive collaborations with other artisans and his own highly skilled team were.

It also shows his incessant boldness in challenging convention - amongst many groundbreaking design innovations, he was the first designer to make dresses that looked like lingerie, leading the way for wearing underwear as outerwear - and his unceasing eagerness to embrace change. Even when he became world renowned for his flamboyant, cutting edge designs he wasn’t afraid to revert to simple, classic styles that reflected and explored his love of sharp tailoring.

Examples of Versace’s unparalleled tailoring skill (I think the yellow coat may be my favourite piece in the whole exhibition)

It’s interesting to learn how Versace’s connection with the different places he called home through his life - the Italian town where he grew up, his time in Milan and the UK and most significantly Miami, a city he adored - influenced his design. And to discover that the interiors of his houses were as lavish and dramatic as the clothes he made, reflecting his love of boldness and excess.

A photograph of Versace’s bedroom in one of his homes

The other aspect of his work and life that is writ large in the exhibition is his relationships, both professional and personal, with the high profile clients and collaborators he worked with over the years - including all of the period’s most successful models - many of whom became good friends. Elton John features most prominently amongst them, and it’s a small fraction of his huge collection of Versace shirts which is the first display in you see on walking into the exhibition space.

As Elton explains in a short video, these were as much works of art he collected to admire as to wear.

The part Versace played in developing the style and fashion choices of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the friendship that grew between them as a result also features in the exhibition and it’s shocking all over again to realise that just weeks after attending the memorial service for Gianni, she herself was dead.

It’s impossible to come away from this exhibition without feeling admiration and respect for the artistry and skill of a dazzling design talent who was lost too soon, and a man whose daring creativity, joyful glamour, and inventive spirit changed the worlds of fashion and celebrity forever.

Gianni Versace Retrospective is at the Arches, London Bridge until March 1st 2026. Find out more and book tickets HERE