My girls are back! By now most of you have seen the photos. Donatella’s brilliant tribute to her brother Gianni during Milan Fashion Week, 20 years after his death, included a finale the fashion world is still buzzing about. Uniting original 1990s supermodels Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Helena Christensen and Carla Bruni, Donatella created one of the best and most memorable fashion moments in years. I still can’t get over it (when I first saw the photos I squealed – loudly). All five legendary models looked as amazing as ever (if not better) and reminded us there’s a good reason why they will forever be credited for term supermodel.
Of course we were all blown away by the ageless stars and genetic marvels – they’re SO BEAUTIFUL. Versace’s long-time muses excited the crowd and all seemed thrilled to pay tribute to their friend Gianni. But there were a couple of noticeable exceptions; Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington were missed.
While the supermodels were a big surprise, the other most impressive aspect of Donatella’s spring 2018 ready-to-wear collection was the touching and clever tribute to some of Gianni’s most iconic and famous collections from the 1990s. The theme of the show was “Freedom” and cleverly celebrated his creativity – he was a design genius with an exceptional aesthetic.
During his time at the Italian fashion house, Gianni pushed boundaries but always with an clever artistic eye. He was known for his elaborate and extravagant creations which were popular in the 90s and Donatella proved that many of his designs are still just as relevant today as they were decades ago. And will continue to be decades from now.
Gianni was closely linked with the popular models who grew to fame partly through his famous ad campaigns and runway shows. He was also responsible for bringing together editorial and runway models because he understood the power they held and attention they would be bring. And he was known for paying the most to have all the top models walk the runway together – he wisely understood the hype they created was priceless. Many of these women became his close friends and eventually part of the Versace legacy.
One of the most memorable and iconic fashion moments ever was the finale of Versace’s fall/winter 1991 collection when Linda, Cindy, Naomi and Christy (my favourites) walked down the runway arm-in-arm lip-syncing to George Michael’s Freedom 90. The group starred in the iconic video for Freedom 90 after Michael saw them on the cover of British Vogue in 1990. It remains to this day one of the most iconic moments in fashion history.
For Donatella’s tribute collection, many of today’s top models joined the supermodel legends, including Gigi & Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, Natasha Poly, Doutzen Kroes and today’s newest modeling star, Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber (who refers to Naomi Campbell as “Auntie Naomi”). For fashion nerds like me, it was fun to see many of the models walk the runway in pairs and groups, reminiscent of Gianni’s runway shows back in the day.
Some favourite looks from the collection are below. These clothes, and the crew of models who helped make Versace a household name, are iconic and will be cherished for years to come.
Thanks to Gianni for leaving us with an incredible fashion legacy. And thanks to Donatella for honouring his work and giving us a runway show and a fashion moment we won’t ever forget. You can watch the whole runway show below. It’s worth it and I hope you enjoy as much as I do. Now I just have to figured out how to get my hands on one of the limited edition Versace tribute t-shirts…
Thanks for reading 😉
Casey Wagar 