This past week alone, the fashion world has been handed one too many reasons to cross the continent. Peak exhibition season, apparently. Belgium’s MoMu opened with a headline exhibition on the Antwerp Six. London, unwilling to miss the moment, countered with Schiaparelli at the V&A. And now Paris takes its turn, preparing a retrospective on the late Gianni Versace at Musée Maillol this June.
It’s been nearly 30 years since his death, but this is France’s first big look back at Gianni Versace since 1986. And it arrives just in time to remind us what the house is built on. The present, after all, hasn’t been exactly steady. Donatella was out in March. Dario Vitale, the first-ever outsider, tried his luck, but lasted just over half a year, one collection, and plenty of chatter. Α cool billion-plus later, Prada owns the brand, and Pieter Mulier is the new man in charge.
So yeah, 450 pieces of clothes, sketches, photographs, décor, interviews, and videos will do it. Expect a deep dive into the forces that forged Gianni. A Calabrian upbringing with Catholic undertones, Greek sculptures that clearly stuck in his head, Italian opera for dramatic effect, a healthy dose of Baroque extravagance, and of course, a touch of Paris, where he kicked off couture in 1989. But don’t get surprised if Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Madonna, Prince, or Elton John show up.
