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While the shiny black vinyl cushions on the seats suggested guests would be in for a certain seediness at Versace’s show in Milan last night, the case was quite the opposite. Sure there was that token moment when a steamy track came on, the lights dimmed and a succession of muscle men came out in lace underwear, but for the most part, Donatella Versace and her team’s AW13 collection was pretty darn classy. “I was thinking of the man’s body. Shoulders… you know. But not only in the sense of physical power,” Donatella told i-D backstage. It was the street portraits of male urbanites by Amy Arbus that inspired the Versace collection, which seemed to morph together several different male characters, all of whom have a place in the Versace archives. There was the yuppy in the check suit, the pimp in the embroidered coat, the gangsta in the tracksuit and more, but their power was similar and equal, as evident in the graffiti-like embroidered jackets, blazers and trousers inspired by the gang culture of decorating one’s clothes with what’s most important to you. Like previous collections, this was one that drew on the Versace legacy that sells out on eBay within minutes, but as Donatella reminded us: “More than the past I look to the future. That’s what excites me.”
Text: Anders Christian Madsen
Photography: Mitchell Sams
