Major Gianni Versace exhibition to open in London

Steven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

A major exhibition of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace’s creations is to be staged in London this summer.

The show will feature more than 450 original pieces, including outfits worn by Princess Diana, Kate Moss, Sir Elton John, Naomi Campbell and George Michael.

Gianni Versace Retrospective will open at Arches London Bridge on 16 July, with organisers saying it would “give visitors a kaleidoscopic view of the 90s”.

Versace was one of the most influential designers of his generation until he was murdered in 1997. After his death, his sister Donatella took over as creative director of the company.

Previous iterations of the retrospective exhibition have visited the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Sweden and Spain, but organisers said it had never been shown in the form it will take in London.

The show has been updated and expanded for the UK, showcasing 21 seasons of Versace’s designs, while a new feature – Gianni Versace in London – will be added.

Curator Karl von der Ahe said the exhibition’s launch in London felt “especially meaningful”, describing the city as “one of the world’s fashion capitals”.

“Gianni Versace’s bold, unapologetic vision revolutionised fashion, and this city – so rich in creativity and cultural influence – provides the perfect stage to celebrate his legacy,” he said.

Organisers said the exhibition would feature the largest collection of vintage Versace designs ever to be displayed in the UK, and would also include accessories, sketches, photographs and interviews alongside the outfits.

Liz Koravos, managing director of Arches London Bridge, described Versace as a “genius of his time”.

“Gianni Versace ties to so much in modern culture and his legacy is enduring, a mark of a talented designer,” she said.

• Born in 1946, Gianni Versace was known for bold, flamboyant and glamorous designs, which often featured vivid colours and baroque prints

• His interest in fashion developed at a young age, with an apprenticeship at his mother’s sewing business, and he started making his name as a designer in the 1970s

• Versace launched his fashion brand in 1978 and began to enjoy major success over the subsequent decade

• His brand became known for opulence and aspiration, with Versace often using luxury materials in his work, but he was also unafraid to be daring and provocative – one 1992 collection referenced bondage and fetishwear

• Sir Elton was a close friend and was known to own every silk shirt the designer had produced, while Versace’s clothes were also worn by Princess Diana and seen at the time as part of her reinvention

• Versace was instrumental in the rise of the supermodel in the 1990s and worked closely with two models in particular – Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell – with whom he produced several memorable campaigns

• Versace often linked his fashion with the music world – George Michael’s video for Freedom saw Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington lip-sync the song’s lyrics in the music video, as well as on a Versace catwalk for one of his fashion shows in 1991

• The Italian designer was murdered at the age of 50 in Miami on 15 July 1997. He was shot in the head by serial killer Andrew Cunanan while walking back from his local newsagents. Cunanan took his own life eight days after Versace’s murder