Versace hits a new high after last season’s J-LO
How do you surpass a mega-moment like J-LO? The age-defying singer’s surprise appearance in the Versace finale last season generated the viral image from an entire month of spring-summer shows.
So the answer this time was bags. Lots and lots of handbags.
Versace hasn’t typically been a house that has a handbag with every look, but this season the models came on to the catwalk accessorised. Most wore Virtus handbags – a boxy, cross-body, top-handle bag with hardware in the shape of a big V. It’s been nearly a year and a half since Michael Kors bought Versace in a $2.1billion deal. A key point of the acquisition was that Versace should double its revenue share from accessories – thus, Virtus.
Oh, and there were boys, marking the first time the brand has presented men’s and women’s collections in the same show, something Donatella Versace called “a celebration of equality and inclusivity”.
“Let’s not care about gender,” she said before the show. “Men and women both have a strong point of view. It’s not female or male. It’s about focusing on what’s going on, wanting to know what’s next.
“What I want to show is that sexuality comes from the brain first, from the way one thinks. The clothes accentuate that.”
Being a Versace show, the clothes accentuated more than just brains. The opening look, a goldbuttoned jacket over a flippy-hemmed minidress, transmitted a strong, confident sexiness.
Boys, girls and bags notwithstanding, the show ended with sparkle: Kendall Jenner strode down the catwalk in a teeny-tiny strapless chain mail minidress. And man, would that look great on J-LO.