Whetting the Appetites for a Miu Miu-ified Versace
Dario Vitale, hired as Versace's new Chief Creative Officer in April, keeps teasing his vision for the next chapter of the Italian luxury label.
After dressing Julia Roberts and Amanda Seyfried in a surprisingly (and divisively) subdued blazer-blouse-and-jeans combo, the ex-Miu Miu designer publishes a range of commissioned multimedia artworks to commence a new sartorial era for Versace. Though this time, there's barely an item of clothing in sight!
From vintage Steven Meisel photographs to custom poems and illustrations by Eileen Myles and Collier Schorr, as well as an underwear-sporting Binx Walton atop a motorcycle, “Versace Embodied,” as is this reveal's title, is a diverse dossier of hint-giving materials to set the scene for Vitale's runway debut at Milan fashion week later this month.
Dario Vitale's appointment closely coincided with Versace's acquisition by the Prada Group, to which his former employer, Miu Miu, also belongs.
Succeeding late founder Gianni Versace's sister Donatella, Vitale is already rumored — and, judging by his output so far, just about confirmed — to be bringing out the calmer, softer sides of the Medusa-logoed brand.
Under the 42-year-old's stewardship, it seems Versace is leaning away from its more maximalist, brazenly sexy aesthetics, and toward a simpler, more sensual code of dress, opting for the subtler of its rich codes.
Are we witnessing the Miu Miu-ification of Versace in real time? To a degree, yes. However, evidence so far points in the direction of something more, say, mature than those ultra-mini skirts and playfully double-laced sneakers that saw the Prada daughter-company's revenue double in less than two years.
Despite having never helmed a house before, Vitale's Miu Miu tenure is sure to have trained his muscle for creating products people actually want, and an ability to source ideas for pieces that are fresh, unique, and wearable.
Newly graduated from Miuccia Prada's tutelage, Vitale's sampler plate is no mere redo of Miu Miu-isms, but another delicious taste of what this new and refined Versace, his Versace, has got cooking.
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