![]() Interestingly, the press releases from both H&M and Versace emphasise that the range will be a celebration of iconic Versace moments, rather than a diffusion-level version of the current collection. In 2009, when Matthew Williamson designed a range for H&M, he worried about the impact on sales at his boutique – would women still shop there, when they could get the name for a tenth of the price half a mile away? As it turned out, his main line sales figures for the period when the H&M collection was on sale were higher, not lower, than usual. Her change of heart reflects, in part, the astonishing success of high-street collaborations with designers, which have proved to be – when done well – a winner for both parties. I think to put the Versace line in H&M would confuse the brand." She has in the past been hostile to the concept of high-street collaborations – just three years ago, she was quoted as saying: "I work very hard to put the Versace line in the luxury section. It is as if she is finally ready to take the Versace brand to the masses. But still, I suspect Donatella's motivation is more about the brand than about her own ego. Is it just me, or does Gaga bears a strong physical resemblance to a young Donatella, as seen in family photos when she was still only known as Gianni's younger sister? Plenty of fodder for amateur psychologists there. ![]() Donatella, in return, has lavished the singer with praise – and one-off Versace archive pieces that guarantee airtime in the fashion blogosphere. She wore a Versace LBD on the cover of the US edition of Harpers Bazaar last month, and has shown a particular fondness for the Miami-bright scarf prints, on leggings and silk blouses. According to fashion insiders, Donatella wrote Gaga a letter, telling her that she believed her brother Gianni would have wanted to dress her and offering to open the archives, and Gaga responded enthusiastically, wearing vintage Versace at high-profile appearances. By forging a connection with Gaga, Donatella has found a way to make that heart beat again. Medusa heads, black leather, a very Italian embrace of sunshine colours, a stiletto with everything and always, always make the boobs look good: that's what Versace is, and will always be. The heart of the Versace brand will always be the prowling, tigerish sex appeal that the label stood for in the 80s. ![]() The significance of the Lady Gaga connection is not to be underestimated: after all, last September when the New York Times ran an article about the power struggles, feuds and mind games that determine the seating arrangements at catwalk shows, one editor, Dan Peres of Details, nailed the key issue: "I want to see who gets the seat next to Lady Gaga." Right now, that seat is occupied by Donatella Versace, and the momentum that Gaga has in pop culture makes that a powerful place to be. The label has not been hotter since the salad days of supermodels in sweet-shop brights on the catwalk and Liz Hurley in safety pins on the red carpet. In the new video for Edge of Glory, Lady Gaga is wearing a slashed, medusa-spiked corset from Gianni Versace's last collection Donatella took a catwalk bow after this week's Versace menswear show in Milan in a skintight, knee-length, studded-and-zipped dress – which, she revealed the following morning, was an early sample from Versace for H&M, which will bring the Versace look to the high street, when it hits stores in November this year. The two headline fashion images of this week are both of glamorous blondes in skintight, gold-studded, stretch black Versace leather.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |