MILAN - Dario Vitale’s interpretation of Versace is an interpretation of the house codes in a way it was almost never considered. There’s an urgency to the emotions Versace has historically built their collections. There’s angst, sex-appeal and unbridled oomph that’s always associated with Versace, and what Vitale has done so successfully, has been to go back to the bedrock of these emotions, and reinterpreted them. Sure, leather dresses, chunky gold jewellery, and high heels have always been associated to a sexy, sultry attitude, but Vitale’s says there’s nothing more sexy than urgency. 

Even the way the collection is styled, you can feel the urgency. The urgency to escape your lover’s apartment to make it to work on time or wearing last night’s dress with your boyfriend’s aviator jacket with your hair in disarray or even missing the top button on your trousers. The collection is loud, and it isn’t self-serious.

Having said that, the collection is still quintessentially Versace. You can see the classic leather and suede craftsmanship in the outerwear, hints of the Greca and Rococo prints that has become synonymous with Versace – and of course the occasional spotting of the Medusa head emblem. It has stayed loyal to the house codes, yet found ways of making it anew.

Between suiting, sequined day-dresses, and large prints of 60s and 70s icons, the collection is really a testament to the things Versace does well – it’s a letter of adoration to everything Versace has been. This is Vitale’s homage to the designers who paved the way before him, yet firmly saying to the rest of us – Versace is in the here and now.

Images courtesy Versace.