Starting June 5 and running throughout the summer, the Maillol Museum is organizing a major exhibition in Paris dedicated to the work of Gianni Versace. This is the first time such an event on the fashion designer has been held in France since the 1980s.
The fashion designer’s legacy explored. Starting June 5 and throughout the summer, the Maillol Museum, located in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, is hosting a major retrospective on Gianni Versace, the Italian designer murdered in 1997 outside his villa in Miami Beach, USA. This is the first event of its kind dedicated to the designer to be held in France since the 1980s.
Before arriving in the fashion capital, the exhibition was shown in London, Berlin, Malaga, and several other European cities. Even though it is not affiliated with the Versace family, Parisians will still be able to admire nearly 450 pieces, including garments, accessories, sketches, decorative objects, and photographs by the greatest names in the industry (Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, and Richard Avedon), as well as videos.
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Through testimonials and the display of these collector’s items, the exhibition offers a deep dive into the 1980s and 1990s, a period during which Gianni Versace was at the peak of his career. At the helm of an empire, the designer befriended celebrities of the time such as Elton John and Madonna. He even dressed royalty, such as Princess Diana, for whom he harbored a deep passion.
Flamboyance Takes Center Stage
When you think of the 1990s, you also think of supermodels. Gianni Versace was, in fact, a pioneer in the art of turning models into true stars. Indeed, all fashion enthusiasts remember the Fall-Winter 1991 runway show when Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford walked the runway to George Michael’s “Freedom!” The exhibition thus retraces this era when the greatest models lent their faces to the designer.
The exuberance that made his brand’s reputation will be prominently featured throughout the exhibition thanks to a scenography designed by Nathalie Crinière (who also curated the “Rick Owens, Temple of Love” exhibition at the Palais Galliera, “Iris Van Herpen. Sculpting the Senses,” and “Christian Dior, Couturier of Dreams” at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs). Visitors will therefore be invited to wander through the designer’s inspirations.
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From his beginnings in the family workshop in Calabria to his architectural silhouettes inspired by Italian modernism, via his fascination with antiquity, mythology, and pop art, everything will be examined in detail. In addition to ready-to-wear, the focus will also be on the brand’s haute couture line, Atelier Versace, which debuted in Paris during the Fall/Winter 1991–1992 Fashion Week.
Featured photo : © Dmytro Bayer/UNSPLASH
