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Show Report

Show Report: Versace A/W 16 Haute Couture

by Marta Represa on 5 July 2016

Marta Represa reports on the Versace A/W 16 haute couture show.

Marta Represa reports on the Versace A/W 16 haute couture show.

‘No satisfaction in human interaction… I’d rather be in my room getting high on some wifi.’ Emmanuelle’s super catchy tune Free Wifi Internet provided the soundtrack to the Atelier Versace show and proved that, no matter how established the Italian house is, Donatella Versace has a keen eye on what tickles millenials. Everything about Sunday’s show was social-media friendly, from the venue, Paris’s opulent Palais Brongniart, to the makeup (those glittery red lips!), to the front row (Naomi Campbell was Instagrammed and snapped ad infinitum) to the casting, mixing up-and-coming models like Marjan Jonkmanand and Mica Arganaraz with Instagirls such as Bella Hadid and household names like Mariacarla Boscono and Karen Elson,  who opened the show wrapped, surprisingly, in a prudish - at least by Donatella’s standards - cashmere and duchess satin coat, casually belted at the waist, revealing only her right shoulder. It was all rather unexpected, from the piece itself to the colour mix, a combination of peach and pistachio green. It was followed by more outerwear, in burgundy and baby blue, another risky colour combination that actually worked.

Draping was the theme here, an unusual one for Donatella, for even if Versace has been consistently drifting away from sheer sexiness in the last few seasons, the designer always seems to stick to the house’s core values when it comes to couture. There was great tailoring in the shape of two-piece suits with draped portrait collars and duchess satin skin tight overalls and asymmetrical dresses which, as the show evolved, became more and more sophisticated - and more and more revealing. Laser-cuts played peek-a-boo with the skin, long dresses became shorter and shorter, and va-va-voom was progressively uncovered. And while it was fun (who wouldn't enjoy watching Bella Hadid sashay in a bustier dress?), we all know by now that Donatella has a lot more to offer. Sunday's show was a good sample of it. Now - in true maximalist style - we want to see more of it.

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