Revisiting Versace's viral celebrity moments

Versace has given us many memorable fashion moments that went big, even before going viral was a term. David Ho looks back at the luxury maison’s history of epic fashion and the celebrities that elevated its iconography

Recently, actress Blake Lively wore a Versace dress previously worn by Britney Spears to the premiere of It Ends With Us in New York City. Spears first debuted the rainbow butterfly dress at Versace’s runway show in Milan in 2002.

Lively’s throwback fashion moment made headlines. “It is Britney’s actual dress. It should be in the Smithsonian or the Met. But it’s on me. I feel so lucky!” she told reporters at the premiere.

Of course, throwbacks aren’t the only waves the iconic fashion label has made in recent times. Versace dressed Taylor Swift for The Eras Tour, which has become the highest grossing tour of all time and a cultural phenomenon. The shimmery body suit sported by Swift is now seen as emblematic of the tour and is certain to live on in pop culture consciousness for a long time.

Other contemporary music stars dressed by Donatella Versace include Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, and Madonna. She has even shown her K-pop bias by crowning Hyunjin of Stray Kids as the ‘Versace Prince’ and made him an ambassador for the brand.

Donatella is continuing a tradition started by the late Gianni Versace, her brother and the fashion maison’s founder, who has long had a penchant for fusing fashion with celebrities. For the iconic finale of Versace’s Fall 1991 runway show, supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford walked the runway together singing George Michael’s “Freedom”, which they all appeared in the music video for. Even decades later, the event still finds new life on social media platforms as it ushered in the dawn of the supermodels.

Versace also had its moment within movies too. In the cult classic film Showgirls, the character of Nomi Malone (played by Elizabeth Berkley) calling it “ver-sayce” remains an often referenced scene even today.

The reach of Versace’s fashion extends beyond the runway to the red carpet. Elizabeth Hurley stole the limelight from Hugh Grant when she accompanied him to the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral in 1994 wearing a black Versace dress was held together by several oversized gold safety pins.

Of course, who can forget how Jennifer Lopez broke the internet with the green Versace silk chiffon dress to the 42nd Grammy Awards ceremony in February 2000. The dress was not only a turning point for Donatella Versace, who had taken the helm of the brand after the death of her brother, but also for the world of tech. Demand for pictures of J.Lo in the dress would inspire the introduction of Google Image Search.

The House of Versace has grown from strength to strength since its inception in 1978 and left an indelible mark on the world of fashion and beyond. We have no doubt more iconic moments from the maison is just around the corner.

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