WOW ! is the word to describe the fashions designed by Gianni Versace. Garments that shock and startle our senses, fashion as spectacle, performance and art.
Transforming contemporary design trends of the late twentieth century, Versace initiated clothing that was visually excessive and provocative- fashions that confronted accepted codes of taste, beauty and sexuality. He reinvigorated fashion by injecting it with the panache of 'Hollywood' styling, the excitement of the spectacle and the opulence of past centuries. Fashion became entertainment, to be watched and admired - not simply worn.
He revelled in testing concepts of 'good' and 'bad' taste. His dynamic textiles incorporate an uproarious pattern mix, the layering of gothic and baroque imagery, combined with animal, abstract and surreal prints. Patterns are edgy, wavering between the incredibly beautiful to the unpalatable. Designing with 'no rules' he clashed against conventional taste, nothing was too extravagant too crazy or even too risque.
Versace's client list read like a 'who's who' of the late twentieth century, dressing the celebrities of the 1980s and 1990s- Madonna, Princess Diana, Elton John, Courtney Love and Elizabeth Hurley. Clothing that became immortalised in the popular culture of the day.
Since his untimely death in 1997 the Versace fashion house continues under the creative leadership of his sister Donatella and the business acumen of his brother Santo.

Gianni Versace: The Retrospective 1982-1997
runs 17 November, 2000 - 04 February, 2001
at the National Gallery of Victoria on Russell,
285 Russell Street, MELBOURNE
Admission:

Adult $14.00
• Concession $8.00
• Family (2 adults / 3 children) $28