In 2013 Donatella Versace decreed that the fashion empire’s younger, more rebellious label, Versus Versace would be not only be fashion forward in it’s see-now-buy-now approach to new season clothes, but that each collection would be designed by a different designer or collaborator. From J.W. Anderson to M.I.A and a K-Way cagoule or two in-between, this was a feat that no other brand had ever embarked upon. But it would appear that the most recent fashion match – with Italian-Belgian designer Anthony Vaccarello – was too good to let go.
Today the news has arrived that Anthony shall be stepping up as a permanent part of the Versus Versace crew – as creative director, no less. It’s no great surprise that this was a partnership crafted and approved by the sexiest fashion gods – his slit-to-there aesthetic and true-to-the-house interpretation of Gianni and Donatella’s style codes proved to be a big hit with shoppers, the internet and of course, his glamorous boss: ‘I’ve followed Anthony’s work from his very first collection, as soon as I met him Irealized immediately he was the one, he gets it, his talent screams Versus Versace. Ilove his fresh energy and innovation and I love being surrounded by a talent which brings newness to Versace,’ said Donatella Versace in a press release regarding this appointment.
Anthony’s eponymous line, shown in Paris, already has the kind of concrete A-list following that would feel just as at home in a sensual slice of Versus Versace leather: his confident thigh-bearing crew includes Anja Rubik, Gisele, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jennifer Lopez to name but(t) a few. Now with a major international fashion label solidly behind him we would imagine many more honed-and-toned red carpet moments are around the corner, ready to snap us out of a January food coma. Thank goodness, the biscuits need to go.