Dressing a Femme Fatale, She Must be in Versace

As promised onto a little lesson in Versace....

Elizabeth Hurley in Versace's "Safety Pin" dress 1994

I mentioned earlier that it was Elizabeth Hurley's daring choice of the Versace safety pin dress in 1994 that had the legendary designer brand a common household name but, of course there was quite a bit more to it.  In fact was Gianni Versace's incredible marketing and approach to the importance of fashion in the public eye that landed the designer house in fashion industry. 

Gianni Versace

What Andy Warhol did for the art world in the pop culture phenomenon, Gianni did for fashion.  In fact, it's him we can thank (or detest, whichever way you want to look at it) for our obsession with America's Next Top Model or Scouted. Of course famous and incredibly influential models had been around for decades, but it was when Gianni hired all of the worlds top print models to walk in his runway shows the idea of the "Super Model" was born.  In his fall/winter 1991 collection Versace sent Cindy Crawford, Naomi Cambpell, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista sauntering down the runway in his wares... need I say more?

Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Christy Turlington
Versace Fall/Winter 1991 Runway

Ever since the designer has been known for his drop dead gorgeous red carpet looks.  The signature designs of Versace arent  necessarily avant garde or out to change the fashion game, they are intended to clothe a femme fatale or at least make you look like one.  Since Donatella has taken over the reigns as creative director after Gianni's untimely murder outside of his South Beach mansion few would dispute anyone does it better.  (Hence my choice of the leopard printed Versace number for my special date night).

Donatella Versace

In fact, that idea of the catering to that red hot vixen is actually embedded in the very logo of the company.  Rooted in mythology the company sports the head of Medusa designed by Gianni Versace himself as the emblem of choice.

Versace Logo

I myself was a little confused about this at first. Why on earth would you chose the depiction of your brand to be a woman who is so ugly she turns people to stone?!? This is where a little academics comes in handy.  In the SUPER condensed version of the myth Medusa was in fact a babe, one of the prettiest girls around in fact, pretty enough to attract the attention of the god Poseidon, and the jealousy of Athena. Athena decided to take that jealousy out on Medusa by cutting off her hair (said to be one of her prettiest traits) and replacing it with snakes. From then on Medusa would captivate every man who laid eyes upon her rendering them incapable of looking away, and unfortunately for them, turning them into stone.  Translating that into relevant terms for Versace, they create designs that when worn are intended to stop men in their tracks. When you think about it that way, it makes quite a bit more sense, and when you look at some of the great red carpet moments of the brand I would say the have the market cornered. 

January Jones in Versace at 2011 Golden Globes

Angelina Jolie in Versace at the 2011 Golden Globes

Jennifer Hudson in Versace at the 2011 Oscars

and how could I not include one of the most famous red (well, techinically blue) carpet dresses of all time... none other than Jennifer Lopez's plunging jungle inspired ensemble at the Grammy's in 2000.

Jennifer Lopez in Versace at the 2000 Grammy's

Va Va Versace

There are a few times when a girl (me included) wants to be taken out for a night on the town, dinner and drinks at a swanky restaurant with a killer view... and I don't just mean the view of her general surroundings... she herself wants to be part of that killer view.  Where you look just as confident on the outside as you are feeling on the inside, like that night is yours to own.

While I know the saying goes, "clothes don't make the the man" they certainly HELP the woman achieve that feeling.  When you slip into a dress that fits like a glove, and accentuates all of your best features very little can stop you from feeling fabulous.  Whether it be an amazing  dinner on top of the Eiffel Tower ( even the little one in Vegas) and an exciting show on the strip, or a candlelit dinner in the middle of a basilica and cocktails on a roof deck 57 stories above Marina Bay, its the type of dress that makes you feel just as special as the place you are wearing it.

For me, "that" dress was this Versace number. (Now if I was only as confident finding "THE" dress for another big day in my life.... I digress though, that's a whole other post in itself). For me, this was a dress that I didn't think "Where am I going to wear this??" it was more "Now I need to figure out where I should be taken so I can wear it." I knew the perfect occasion would arise eventually or I would eventually make an occasion happen... either or.

It's the perfect just above the knee length, and made of silk that has just enough stretch to hug you in all the right places.  What looks to be leopard print is actually overlapping images of fabric swatches- a little detail that makes it not your average animal print dress. It still has that "look at me" quality that is let's face it- unavoidable in anything that looks remotely close to animal print, but in definitely a more sophisticated polished way. My favorite detail however, is in the straps.  The straps on the V neck actually wrap around the front, crossing in the back to mimic the subtle V shape and then meet again in the front with a simple architectural black bow. Perfection.

If you are familiar with the rest of Versace's collections, it's fitting that the "WOW!" dress of my wardrobe would be from the atelier.  If anyone gets that va va va voom factor, its Versace. It is what the design house has come to epitomize in the couture world, and is responsible for making it a household name.  While the label (formally Gianni Versace) has been around since 1978, it didn't become a common name on the lips of fashionistas until 1994, thanks to Elizabeth Hurley and this "I have absolutely nothing to hide" black dress by the label.

As early as last Saturday, the label launched its collaboration with H&M... the brand is all a buzz in the fashion world yet again.  Clearly, the active house has had a lot going on for it since 1978, enough so, that I think its history deserves its own post.... and I'm sure Donatella would agree.