Author: Louis Dell'Olio

………………..This was……..DONATELLA VERSACE’S last collection for the HOUSE OF VERSACE before she steps down……”HER SWAN SONG”……..When her brother Gianni, the creator of the Versace line, was murdered….Donatella took over….Even though she had always worked beside her brother….the question was….can she fill his BIG SHOES!!! Over the years since….I think she has proved over and over again that….YES….she could carry on the name of VERSACE…….and make it as relevant as it always had been without skipping a beat…..It was clear that they had the same taste, the same philosophy, the same mind and HEART about clothes…..and…..SEX….was at the top of the list……If I were to use one word to describe Donatella it would be……FEARLESS!!!….Her brother was fearless too…..That is the GREATEST attribute any designer could want….not all have that in them….Being FEARLESS is what is needed to free your mind of negative thoughts, and doubts….and create incredible things!…..It will be very interesting to see WHO will fill GIANNI’S SHOES and DONATELLA’S HIGH HEELED PLATFORM SHOES!…..I HOPE whoever it is keeps the DNA of the HOUSE, and doesn’t try to prove who they are as a designer by changing everything as so many do……case in point VALENTINO!….I think her last collection was a HIT!…..Was it her best??? I can’t say….I will gladly give her the benefit of any doubt…..but she had every VERSACE SIGNATURE in this collection and then some!…..She started the show with three outfits that were tongue-in-cheek….in that they were made out of signature printed QUILTS for the bed…..which I think was a clever nod to the HOME DECOR DIVISION……Then THEY CAME OUT…..one signature look after the other…..a BOMBARDMENT of SIGNATURE PRINTS….and COLORS! There were plenty of severe BLACK LOOKS too……and a barrage of leather for men and women…..The men didn’t play second fiddle either!….There was a lot of emphasis on men’s clothing too…….Donatella also showed BIG shoulders, but hers were manageable, and never looked unwearable….Her EVENING CLOTHES were PURE VERSACE…..beautiful and….yes….SEXY!!!….If you are a VERSACE customer…..and they are a very specific group of women and men…….you will LOVE Donatella’s final SWAN SONG….Years ago I recall her doing a beautiful fall collection that was almost ALL WHITE….A reporter asked her “what do your customers do to clean them???”…her answer….”they don’t clean them….they throw them out!”…..FEARLESS!……..I would imagine with everything she has been through….loosing her brother so many years ago, taking over the reigns and having to PROVE herself, and leading this company to greater success these long years since…….it must be difficult to walk away!…….but from experience….the loss of not creating on a daily basis, and not being around the people you love and have grown up with….not having the anxiety of deadlines, and the anxiety of every season starting a new…..only lasts for a short time before your “present new life” takes over……I wish her all the best for what’s NEXT TO COME!

……………….The Versace signature looks were all there…..from the first model to walk out….to the last……The JACKETS, the PRINTS, the COLORS, the DRESSES….the interesting DETAILS….the SEXINESS…that all screamed VERSACE!!!….and for me, this was a wonderful send off for Donatella……..I hope she is proud of what she has accomplished……..BELIEVE ME when I say…..it was no small feat for her to overcome, and come out from under her brother GIANNI’s GIANT shadow. He was a POWERHOUSE designer…..handsome, charming and brilliant!!!!…at the HEIGHT OF HIS CAREER!!……a life cut down too soon!…….It’s very hard to compete with a powerful ghost……I can easily relate…..When I started designing the ANNE KLEIN collection with Donna Karan, only a few months after Anne died…..EVERYONE….even those in the company questioned whether these two kids, 23 years old, could carry on the QUEEN OF AMERICAN SPORTSWEARS HOUSE…I believe we were the two youngest designers heading a designer company!…We were too young to be afraid!!…..I can only think that Donatella had many of the same feelings that first collection as we did, and the first year after Gianni was gone……She proved all the doubters WRONG…..and became a POWERHOUSE all of her own doing!……..CONGRATULATIONS on a BRILLIANT CAREER!

………………….Versace’s evening clothes NEVER disappoint………..that’s why so many celebrities wear them on the RED CARPET!…….She showed everything you could possibly DREAM OF…..The two black dress at the extreme left with the DIAMANTE trims were standouts. and I’m sure we will be seeing them a lot……The silver and gold embroideries were astonishing…for women and men!…They were not just simple dresses covered in sequins or beads, but incredibly intricate designs… [nothing wrong with the all over sequin dresses….just not very VERSACE!], and there were STARLET dresses for the likes of ZENDAYA to make fabulous entrances in!……….BRAVO…BRAVO….BRAVO……DONATELLA…………..LIVE and BE WELL!

……………….For some reason, unbeknownst to me, YVES was dropped from the name of the brand????….Now the company is simply called Saint Laurent….it doesn’t quite sound right to me………The following are my observations and comments of the Saint Laurent Collection……..The pros:…..the COLORS were MAGNIFICENT…..the colors, and their combinations…Yves would be proud….The fabrics and the leathers looked sumptuous……..This collection was the POLAR OPPOSITE of the Valentino collection. Where as Valentino was all over the place without any direction….the Saint Laurent collect was EXTREMELY FOCUSED……..almost to a FAULT……..It was REPEATIVE, REPEATIVE, REPEATIVE…..It was basically three silhouettes done in slight variations in every color. The common denominators were the GINORMOUS SHOULDERS on EVERYTHING….which appeared on basically a cylinder of a shape, whether loose or belted….whether it be a jacket a coat or a dress……The second major silhouette was a PENCIL SKIRT shown with the same blouse with two or three variations in different fabrics…..For evening he showed one drop waist very FULL LONG skirt with a repetitive group of tops. Not easy to wear for most!…If he showed one he showed EIGHT of them!……If it weren’t for the beautiful colors, which made the collection exciting to look at….this collection would have been a bore!….If every outfit shown was made in grey instead of the colors….it would have been difficult to distinguish one from another because they were all so similar if not the same…..It just looked like he showed three silhouettes total….over and over….which he practically did. As for those PLASTIC CONDOM styles….YUCK….instant sauna…..You do have to give him credit for having a VISION and sticking to it…..even if it did become a “JOHNNY ONE NOTE”.

…………………….OMG……..WHAT A DISASTER!!!!!!……..What a MISHMOSH…….A COCK-A-BALLY collection of clothing that looked like it was designed by someone who is suffering from SCHIZOPHRENIA!…..I can’t imagine what Valentino is thinking!!!??? What happened to the beautiful elegant clothes that he once stood for??? Is ARMANI the only one left?…There was absolutely NOTHING in this collection for what Valentino stood for!!!…..To say it was all over the place would be an understatement…..The RED BATHROON SET was BIZAARE…..The styling, if you could call it that, was disturbing at best! It looked like Allesandro Michele, the designer [bottom right picture], called in Edith Beal “LITTLE EDIE” from Grey Gardens to come in and help him style the collection…..The “LACE” layering pieces he showed under many evening dresses looked right out of Little Edie’s closet!….Were there any pretty clothes????…Maybe yes….but the barrage of weirdness overshadowed anything good in the collection…….If someone forced him to get rid of the weirdness, and he was forced to create something truly beautiful….I think he might have the talent to possibly do it…..but given a free reign as he was at GUCCI, and now VALENTINO….one is left guessing……..does he have the talent????…….and PLEASE…..Someone give those models a GOOD MEAL!………If you want to see more of this just go to YouTube and see it for yourself!