Urns as Bags, Saucers as Keychains: Versace SS23 Raids the China Cabinet
Your new favorite accessory is... a vase! Versace's Spring/Summer 2023 menswear collection made an unconventional proposal: the contents of your china cabinet can double as homeware and streetwear.
In Milan, the label strayed from its typical lineup of Barocco-printed suiting, silk shirts, and bling-y jewelry to debut new pieces from its home collection, styled as handbags.
Models glided down the runway clutching gilded vases and urns, accoutrements that very much exuded "my rich husband just died and I'm carrying his ashes." The porcelain additions were complemented by miniature cups and saucers, worn as belt-loop keychains and dangly earrings.
There were also bedazzled Starbucks — Starsace? — cups, worn as shoulder bags. One show-goer perched in the front row even carried his own bejeweled Versace vessel, a moment captured by photographer Eva Al Desnudo that has inspired me to elevate my to-go cup game.
Other Versace Home items that could, ostensibly, function as sartorial statements? A medusa head piggy bank, a crystal-encrusted lighter holder, and a Barocco print football.
The fragile accessories shown at Versace's SS23 show might seem ridiculous, but they're not entirely unprecedented. In fact, they're pretty in line with fashion's recent taste for glass handbags, a trend kickstarted by Heven x Coperni's Swipe bag, famously worn by Doja Cat and Kylie Jenner.
So the next time you're shopping for a new bag, take a "break it, you buy it"approach: if it can break, you can buy it.
