That Donatella Versace is young at heart isn’t a secret; her audacity has shone bright since her days working alongside her brother Gianni. She has always drawn upon the energy and insouciance of the young—qualities she embodies herself, so much so that in 1989 she was gifted by her brother with the creative direction of the Versus secondary line, which mirrored her attitude of extravagant, sexy rock-chic rebel. Pictures from the Versus years were plastered on her resort moodboard, indicating the gusto for fun and dash she wanted to pour into the collection.
“I love the vibrant Versace gang,” she expressed. “Preppy punk, a little mod, sharply tailored with acid colors and prints, slashed and layered. This is the young rebel attitude I love, with clothes worn in an entirely personal way. Take Versace and make it your own.” Not overcomplicating anything, she proposed a clean silhouette, with fitted tailoring, burst of colors, a little fluff, and lots of high-octane playfulness.
Classic isn’t a word that jibes with the Versace ethos, yet for resort Versace took traditional wardrobe staples and revisited them with pizzazz and glam. At the moment, apparently she’s into red. Recently awarded by Italy’s Head of State with the title of Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for her contribution to Italian culture and fashion, she received the honor boasting a bright red pantsuit. Here a rather straightforward trench coat looked dazzling in a luscious lipstick shade, a fitted riding jacket worn with black stirrup pants looked racy in vibrant scarlet, and eye-popping vermilion amped up a cropped boxy jacket and miniskirt.
Counterbalancing the streamlined daywear, fluffy borders in lilac shearling added a touch of softness to tweed mini-suits.Though elsewhere, slinky figure-hugging black dresses with plays of slashes, draping, and knots just screamed “Versace!” Feeling playful, she riffed on fun archival prints, like Dalmatian spots, ladybugs, and strawberries for liquid slip dresses in see-through devoré, embroidered in crystals and sequins. Small-sized silver Medusa 95 buttons and the infamous golden safety pins were used in a rather unobtrusive way, while patches of metal mesh peeked from the frayed slashes on denim cargos—a smart way to introduce Versace’s signifiers to the young crowd that’s getting DV’s attention.