“The body is back,” declared Vogue, thus sounding the death knell for grunge. Of course, la bella figura was never, ever, out of fashion at this Italian house, a point Gianni Versace drove home by making corsetry his focus for the season. When models weren’t wearing stays, they were in slips of dresses featuring ribbon lacing or structured, nip-waisted suits trimmed with hook-and-eye detailing. Luxuriant Veronica Lake hair lent retro appeal to the styling, “proving once again” that Versace was “king of sexy nighttime dressing.”
There were floor-grazing slips, some with delicate drapes; wiggle dresses; and floaty empire-line nightie styles. Novelty prints featuring butterflies and ladybugs added a sense of winking playfulness to the whole. “I want to make people believe in fashion again,” the designer said. In conversation with Vogue, he expanded on his approach: “It’s the body-consciousness of today’s women that gives the return to glamour a real current attitude. It’s all about basic forms with wonderful shapes and a great attention to the cut.”
