VERSACE – SPRING/SUMMER 2013 COLLECTION
“GLADIATOR HEAVEN” - Amanda Waters
You’ve got to hand it to Donatella Versace! If it’s glamour and opulence you’re after then look no further…
Each season I wonder how she will ever ‘better’ her last show, with each theme somehow translating into utterly desirable sophistication. (My credit cards were twitching during her gothic inspired, leather and velvet, bejewelled A/W 2012 Womenswear collection.)
The Versace Men’s Spring/Summer 2013 Collection was spectacular!
(Not least because it featured some of the best looking male models we’ve ever seen!)
Sultry looking models, with chiselled chins, and washboard abs sauntered down a runway resembling the Roman Colosseum, heads held high with the air of a Gladiator going into battle.
The collection was based on the theme of the Gladiator Warrior. Chiffon jackets, and longer loose-fitting tunics and overcoats some fastened with beautiful brightly bejewelled gladiator belts, ran throughout the collection. Laced-up Centurion sandals were paired with gilded tunics, and mesh trunks, and also evening wear, rendering the collection completely versatile.
Donatella was quoted as saying “The new gladiators are the young. I would like to see them fighting for a goal”. (Although I can’t see them having to fight for anything much if they were wearing any of these pieces….!)
Elsewhere shorts, tunics and trousers featured brightly coloured floral prints, and were mixed and matched with assorted evening wear (some with trousers, some with shorts). Many suits were worn with the gladiator robe over the top. Brightly coloured, or shiny tote bags were paired with much of the evening wear, and nearly all of the outfits were accessorised with the Gladiator warrior necklace.
The Collection was a masterpiece, and with the bright colours and bare chests, a real eye-opener!
I just have one thing to say to Donatella Versace from all the ladies (and gentlemen) who may have been ‘perked up’ on these drizzly weekend afternoons after viewing this collection…..
“Grazie!”
Photography by Leah McQueen