Unlike the '70s and '80s references that have populated the runways lately, Donatella Versace referenced a more recent decade for Versus in a brightly colored upbeat collection inspired by the '90s and acid house culture. That might seem a bit off the mark even in today's accelerated retro cycle, but never mind. It worked just fine.
Carmen Kass kick-started the show in a sky-blue rabbit fur coat and skintight jeans that stretched down over the shoes. Those jeans, some ruched down the outside seam, others splashed in purple, orange and blue came in cotton velvet and washed cord and showcased Donatella's savvy about what girls really want to wear. She used a hoodie sweatshirt as one of the core pieces layering in cut-off, raw-edged skirts over pants and adding in T-shirts, bomber jackets and fur.
And when mad clashing flower prints on T-shirts got thrown into the mix alongside baby-blue shaggy shearlings and jeans appliquéd with frayed patches spelling out the word VERSUS, Donatella brought in an optimism and energy that's very welcome right now, no matter what the decade. For evening, the dress code recalled another recognizable zone of Versace's celebratory universe. The black leather corset dresses inset with lace looked like a reworking of Gianni Versace's legendary sex-bomb designs from the heydays of the '90s.
