Versace reached out to the stars with a lavish Hollywood show
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Stepping out of her usual base in Milan to show her stuff in Los Angeles – just three days before the Oscars – Donatella Versace said she was inspired by the power, glamor and power of Hollywood. He had plenty of it, but needed one more thing to make it all work: good weather.
And so, with rain expected on Friday, Versace was forced to move his show forward by a day. It may have been chaotic, but it was the right move.
Her star-studded runway show took place on a chilly but gorgeous Los Angeles evening Thursday on a spectacular rooftop overlooking the snow-capped San Gabriel Mountains, sleek skyscrapers and Hollywood Hills. Oh, and daylight fades to darkness as the show ends — just in time to turn on the floodlights, blast Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy,” and move on to the cocktails.
As the crowd began to climb the roof of the Pacific Design Center on Melrose Avenue, the sun was still out, its distinctive blue glass exterior.
Guests included a cross-section of the worlds of music, film, fashion, and sports: Cher was there, as were Elton John, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus, and Lil Nas X. From the movie, there were two Best Supporting Actress Oscar winners — Ariana DeBose and Anne Hathaway — plus this year’s favorite for Best Supporting Actor, Kay Huey Kwan. From sports, former NBA star Dwyane Wade was there with wife Gabrielle Union.
Attendees scrambled to take selfies with the spectacular view behind them, and staff warned them not to go too far back and fall off the building.
To create its fall-winter 2023 line, Versace returns to the 1995 collection of the label’s clothing line, Atelier Versace, with a campaign starring Madonna. Color choices started with black and included caramel and chocolate as well as apricot, turquoise and pink. Prints included an animal print and a falling floral motif from the Versace archive.
Supermodel Gigi Hadid opened the show in a black, hourglass jacket and knee-length pencil skirt, a sleek tailored look that gradually morphed into more glittery outfits. Naomi Campbell arrived next, in a slinky black dress with elbow-length gloves.
After a cascade of black dresses for both women and men, a sudden burst of bright pink, in a wool cropped jacket and miniskirt, then a minidress in a tangerine hue. Over half of the show came luxurious, satiny printed dresses — often mini, and with those elbow-length gloves for added glamour.
Streetwear was nowhere to be seen, and long gloves evoked Hollywood’s Golden Age, which began in the mid-1920s and continued for decades. Paired with up-to-there minis, and often accessorized with oversized sunglasses, they’re what Versace has described as “collision of Golden Age glamor with contemporary attitude and confident energy.”
How confident are you? Designers have called this collection a form of armor. As for Los Angeles, Versace calls it “a natural home for us”—a place that makes her feel free and close to nature.
Los Angeles is also, of course, a city of stars — and none more so than during Oscars week. The moments leading up to the show felt like a dry run for the Oscars red carpet, with celebrities reuniting or meeting for the first time.
Dua Lipa has been spotted on social media sitting next to Cher in a meeting. And one set of stars seemed particularly thrilled to be reunited: “Everything’s Everything All at One’s” Kwun and Hathaway, who each expressed their devotion to the other.
“I’m going to faint!” Hathaway said as she eyed Kwan. “Everyone is so happy for you!”
Kwan replied: “I love you so much.”
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