Versace / Spring 2012 Couture

Versace / Spring 2012 Couture

Call it the return of the power woman. Donatella Versace’s comeback to the Paris couture schedule was made official today with the first public presentation of her Atelier Versace collection in eight years. If “presentation” sounds like a modest, low-budget affair, forget it: There’s nothing very reserved or quiet about building a golden plinth—a towering set of stairs—on which to pose a troop of futuristic glamazons in sparkling lace gowns and starship bodysuits. It was a tableau that might echo the old days of the Alta Moda, when Italian couturiers showed their dresses on the Spanish Steps in Rome, perhaps, or a sci-fi fantasy. The only aspect that was down-to-earth was the fact that the audience stood to watch, some resorting to sitting on the floor.             
               

The silvery siren gowns and gold filigree dresses and biker jackets were worked in combinations of lace, leather, crystalline sugar-granule beading, and rose motifs. Sharp half-moons of gold aluminum, inserted to jut at the hips, or cut into angular slices to emphasize corsets, gave a sense of futuristic drama to sinuous silhouettes calculated to glorify every curve of the Versace rock-goddess body. With the suggestion of peplums, and the underpinnings of shorts showing through sheer segments of lace, the look hit on two trends of the moment, but really, this was a continuation of everything the house has always done. Stepping back into the limelight of couture is a positive step for Donatella—and a fillip to the spirits of this round of shows. Next time, though, she might have to put caution behind her, and have a full-fledged show—why not, when she’s come this far?

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