Groninger Museum to host Gianni Versace Retrospective:largest-ever exhibition of Italian designer’s work

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“That dress” – the one that sparked a media frenzy and made the actress #lizhurley world-famous overnight – is coming to Groningen. The garment goes on view on 3 December as part of Gianni Versace Retrospective, the largest-ever exhibition of the #fashion designer’s work. Never before have so many objects from Gianni Versace’s collections and life been displayed together as in the Groninger Museum’s forthcoming #show.

In 1994 an obscure actress named #lizhurley accompanied the movie star Hugh Grant on the red carpet at the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral. What was everyone talking about? Not Grant, not the film, but “that dress”. Hurley was wearing a revealing black silk Versace creation with giant gold safety pins up the sides.

The designs of Gianni Versace
According to the exhibition’s curators, Versace experts Karl von der Ahé and Saskia Lubnow, the dress is the ideal garment to illustrate the impact Versace had as a designer. The famous garment is on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Another exhibition highlight is a catwalk showcasing key looks from Versace’s 1991 Freedom collection. The Freedom #fashion #show turned supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington into global sensations.

Gianni Versace understood the power of the media better than anyone. He laid the groundwork for the influencers of today. Versace seated celebrities rather than #fashion journalists in the front rows at his shows. He also dressed them for red carpet appearances and performances. The rapper 2Pac often wore the designer’s silk shirts on stage and performed at a 1996 Versace #show in Milan. Versace’s strategy was hugely effective at reaching a mass audience.