Not loving the world we’re currently residing in? No matter; Versace SS21 continues its escapist theme for the year, proposing the existence of a beautiful underwater world, unaffected by the calamities faced above the surface.
“I wanted to create something disruptive, something that could be in tune with what has changed inside all of us,” Donatella Versace said of the intent behind the show. “To me that meant dreaming of a new world. A world made of popping colours and fantastic creatures and a world in which we can all coexist peacefully.”
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Set in the ruins of the fictional city of Atlantis, the Versace show was open to staff members (who all tested negative for COVID-19) only, and live streamed to the public. If there’s beauty in reemergence, Versace SS21 finds it by dredging up treasures of better times, namely that of Gianni Versace’s 1992 ‘trésor de la mer’ collection.
Models – including Versace regulars like Joan Smalls, Irina Shayk, and Adut Akech, as well as body diverse newcomers like Jill Kortleve, Alva Clare, and Precious Lee – glided down the runways with wet-look hair and dewy skin, resembling otherworldly sea creatures. Happily, the infamous vibrant colours and coral, starfish, and seashell motifs of the 1992 collection make their way onto the slinky, edgier, contemporary silhouettes of today, looking just as at home as they did the first time around.
Escapist and optimistic, Versace SS21 shines a positive light on the future, suggesting that the time to don fishtail-esque ruffled skirts, minidresses, silky sets, and platform heels in hues of baby blue, neon oranges and yellows, pastels pinks and purples, and striking greens, will indeed come.
Words by Theo Rosen
