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Twenty-five years after his death, Gianni Versace is the subject of an upcoming retrospective at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands that bills itself as the largest exhibition of the Italian fashion designer’s work.
The exhibition features women’s and men’s outfits, accessories, fabrics, drawings, interior designs and show footage from Versace’s heyday in the 1990s, sourced from the archives of leading private collectors of his work. The Versace family and company are not involved and did not endorse the event.
Visitors will be able to see iconic creations like the safety pin dress that propelled Elizabeth Hurley to international stardom in 1994, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and key looks from the fall 1991 runway that crystallized the supermodel moment, with a cast including Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell.
“Gianni Versace understood the power of the media better than anyone. He laid the groundwork for the influencers of today. Versace seated celebrities rather than fashion journalists in the front rows at his shows,” the museum said in a statement.
“He also dressed them for red carpet appearances and performances. The rapper 2Pac often wore the designer’s silk shirts on stage and performed at a 1996 Versace show in Milan. Versace’s strategy was hugely effective at reaching a mass audience,” it added.
“Gianni Versace Retrospective,” curated by
Karl von der Ahé and Saskia Lubnow, is set to run from Dec. 3 to May 7. It’s organized in collaboration with collectors Antonio Caravano, with
Sabina Albano as collection curator, as well as Salvatore Alderuccio and Franco Jacassi, the owner of Milan store Vintage Delirium.
The exhibition is organized around the designer’s sources of inspiration, with each gallery featuring a unique decor.
One of them is dedicated to ’ 90s U. S. pop culture and features music by Elton John and art by Andy Warhol, who inspired Versace’s spring
1991 collection, featuring multicolored prints of Marilyn Monroe.
Australian Winners
Australian artist Ken Done has won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Australian Fashion Laureates.
Considered the industry’s pinnacle trophy, the award was among seven Australian Fashion Laureates that were presented at a lunch at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday.
One of the country’s most prominent artists, whose work has been featured in over 100 solo exhibitions in Australia and around the world, Done, now 82, abandoned a successful career as a creative director at advertising agencies in
New York, London and Sydney to focus on painting full-time in 1980. His vibrant, naive depictions of Australiana and notably, Sydney landmarks helped define the ’ 80s cultural zeitgeist in Australia and proved a commercial goldmine, tapping in particular the decade’s Japanese tourism boom.
From his gallery in Sydney, Done and his wife Judy started selling T- shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with his prints, which proved popular. They expanded into swimwear, resortwear, bed linen and other homewares. By the end of the decade they were operating 15 shops around the country.
Ken Done merchandise was not only a star player in Olivia Newton- John’s ’ 80s retail chain
Koala Blue, which operated in the U. S., Asia and Europe, he designed the brand’s logo. His many licensing arrangements, during his heyday, included deals with Mervyn’s department stores and Bart Jacobs in California.
Designer of the Year at this year’s awards was won by sibling design duo Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman, of the Camilla and Marc label.
Emerging Designer of the Year was won by Lesleigh Jermanus, of the Alémais label — Jermanus’ second major award of the year, after taking home the 2022 National Designer Award in July.
Indigenous Designer of the Year was awarded to Laura Thompson, cofounder of the Aboriginal social enterprise and fashion label Clothing
The Gaps.
Sarah Munro and Robert Sebastian Grynkofki of the Sarah and Sebastian jewelry brand received the Sustainable Innovation of the Year Award. Long focussed on sustainability, the duo recently pledged to donate one million Australian dollars, or $ 667,000 at current exchange, to ocean conservation efforts over the next decade.
The Carla Zampatti Award for Excellence in Leadership was won by Leila Naja Hibri, chief executive officer of the Australian Fashion Council.
The People’s Choice Award, which is decided by a public vote conducted by Australian Fashion Week naming rights sponsor Afterpay, was won by Rebecca Vallance.
Brunello’s New Home
Brunello Cucinelli has seemingly put down roots in Los Angeles.
The designer, executive chairman and creative director of his namesake fashion brand, is the new owner of a 1920s- era Spanish Colonial Revival home in Runyon Canyon.
The residence was purchased for $ 5 million in an off- market deal, according to Dirt, revealing the property was previously owned by entertainment executive Robert Geary for decades.
It’s reportedly a five- bedroom, three- bathroom house with two floors and more than
3,800 square feet. The site notes that Susan Andrews and Justin Roberts of Compass represented the seller, while Brent Watson and Marco
Salari, both of Coldwell Banker Realty, worked with Cucinelli on the deal.
Born in Castel Rigone, near Perugia in Italy, Cucinelli is known to reside in a 17thcentury villa in Solomeo, Italy, since the ’ 80s. His company headquarters are nearby. The brand, which went public in 2012, has expanded greatly since its early days. Launching the business in 1978 with a line of dyed cashmere knitwear, Cucinelli is known for offering a wide range of luxury goods internationally.
In L. A., his neighbors will reportedly include composer Harald Kloser, filmmaker Alan Ball, actress Katey Sagal and actor Julian Morris.