Conjure, if you can, a time when runway images didn’t clog your Instagram feed moments after a fashion show ended. Picture an era before you could find any photo you wanted on the internet. It was at the Grammy Awards in February 2000 when Jennifer Lopez took her iconic red carpet turn in Donatella Versace’s jungle-print dress—the one that plunged precipitously a couple inches below her navel. So many people went hunting for that green dress, and a still nascent Google was so ill-equipped to handle the traffic, Google Images was born. It was a boon for the company, and the implications for Versace and co. were mega. You could argue it was the end of fashion as an insular industry and the start of fashion as entertainment.
At a press conference before her show today, Donatella said, “We all follow technology; it’s at the center of our lives today, but 20 years ago it wasn’t. I’m proud that we inspired Google Images.” Her new Spring collection celebrated the milestone. Versace brought the jungle prints and Google provided the Tilt Brush technology that created the digital art projections playing on the walls of the makeshift Pantheon built for the occasion—and Lopez is what made it all click. After the final model made her circle, pictures of J.Lo in the iconic number scrolled by on the walls, then Donatella said, “Okay, Google, now show me the real jungle dress,” and out Lopez glided in an even more naked version than the original, as bronzed, buff, and gorgeous as ever. Needless to say, it was mere minutes before she was a trending topic and the new dress was near the top of a Jennifer Lopez Google Image search. On the runway the energy couldn’t have been higher. The crowd was on its feet for a better view—and a better camera angle—the moment she made her entrance.
The surprise guest factor energized Donatella. This was the sharpest and sexiest she’s gone in some time. It was definitely less merchandised than last season’s outing, and in that sense it felt quite late ’90s. Go back and look at the original jungle-print show and what strikes you is how streamlined and unaccessorized the overall aesthetic is. There are other similarities. Though the prints were the ostensible story then and now—after all, prints are what register in images on a screen (that’s one small way technology has changed fashion; there’s plenty more)—the designer didn’t ignore black in either case. And here it was the black looks that really registered. The tailored coatdress that opened the show was a killer outfit. Interestingly, a particular kind of ’90s sexinesss—heavy on the black and the stilettos—is trending in Milan. With this collection, Donatella confirmed that she has a more vital claim to the era than just about anybody. As for fashion as entertainment, the stakes have just been raised.
