Versace: Signatures (Hardcover)

~ Gianni Versace (Author), Omar Calabrese (Author), Herb Ritts (Photographer), Bruce Weber (Photographer), Ingrid Sischy (Commentary), Maurice Bejart (Commentary), Robert Wilson (Commentary), Anna Wintour (Commentary), Polly Mellen (Commentary), Liz Tilberis (Commentary)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Gianni Versace is Italy's leading couturier and made headlines when he opened his sumptuous store in Bond Street in London which caters for the rich and famous, both male and female, from all over the world. "Versace: Signatures" presents a range of his outstanding designs both eyecatching and idiosyncratic. Over 200 full colour photographs document the designer's best work from recent years - the brightly printed silks and painted tights, the bodices festooned with beads, the playful reappropriation of leather straps and chains with an occasional backward glance to the pieces that first made Versace famous: the wide shoulders, supple leather jackets and metal mesh of the early 1980s. The book closes with a survey of his theatrical costumes and a chronology of his career to date. Versace's sources are wide-ranging, from ancient Egypt of the Pharaohs to Russian Folk costumes. He draws on Art Deco, Pop Art and Op Art as springboards for his imagination, together with the traditions of Baroque and Rococco. As Omar Calabrese says in his essay, this mix of inspiration fosters "a spirit of risk and adventure, a certain complicity between the creator of adventure, the creator of the clothes and their potential user". There are comments on Versace's work by experts as diverse as art critic Ingrid Sischy, choreographer Maurice Bejart, director Robert Wilson, and fashion editors Anna Wintour, Polly Mellen and Liz Tilberis.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Abbeville Press; 1st English Ed edition (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558595961
• ISBN-13: 978-1558595965
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 9.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,575,046 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Publisher, October 24, 2005

By	Earl R. Sutton "earlsutton" (Detroit, MI, USA) - See all my reviews

"The first English language monograph of Italy's great couturier, Versace/Signatures presents a kaleidoscopic array of the designer's best clothes for men and women, for dancers and singers and stars. Hundreds of full-color photographs document his work from recent years - the bright printed silks and painted tights, the bodices festooned with beads, the playful reappropriation of leather straps and chains - with an oocasional glance back to the pieces that first made Versace famous: the wide shoulders and supple leather jackets and metal mesh of the early '80s. The book, which was the companion volume to the triumphant 1992 New York show at the Fashion Institute of Technology, closes with a survey of his theatrical costumes and chronology of the designer's career. Versace's sources were everywhere, ranging from his mother, a seamstress 'who always made the sign of the cross before she cut into the fabric,' to the sophisticated forms of royal ancient Egypt and the rich variety of Russian folk costumes. Art Deco, Pop Art, and Op Art all served as springboards for his imagination, together with the tradtions of the Baroque and Rococo. All this is conveyed in powerful photographs by Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, Herb Ritts, and many others; and the book is peppered with witty quotes chosen from Wilde and Proust. In addition, there are comments on Versace's work by experts as diverse as art critic Ingrid Sischy, choreographer Maurice Bejart, director Robert Wilson, and fashion observers Anna Wintour, Polly Mellen, and Liz Tilberis."