THIS IS LONDON JUNE EDITION 2025 - Flipbook - Page 28
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Gianni Versace, Elton John and George Michael at the Bond St Versace store, 1995.
Photo: Peter Macdiarmid
GIANNI VERSACE RETROSPECTIVE
A major new Gianni Versace
Retrospective comes to the UK for the
first time this summer opening at Arches
London Bridge from 16 July. Honouring
the legacy of a designer who transformed
the fashion world, the exhibition will
feature the largest collection of vintage
Gianni Versace designs ever to be
displayed in the UK with over 450
original vintage garments, accessories,
personal sketches, interviews and
photographs which showcase the
designer’s craftsmanship, innovation, and
unmistakable aesthetic.
This unique retrospective celebrates a
visionary designer whose groundbreaking work catapulted the Versace
brand to a level of great international
success that has sustained almost 30
years after his death. From opulent
baroque prints to daring bondage
designs, Gianni Versace’s visionary
collections revolutionised fashion.
The Gianni Versace Retrospective is
presented on a London stage for the first
time at Arches London Bridge and reflects
the many ways the city and its people
inspired the designer’s work. His closest
friend was Elton John, already a hero of
British pop music at the time who
famously owned every silk shirt by Gianni
Versace; a collection of these iconic
designs is now on display. Princess
Diana became a close confidante and a
symbol of reinvention wearing his
clothes. Looks, collections and
documents that tell of these relationships
feature throughout the retrospective.
Similarly, the phenomenon of the
supermodel was born in London and
Gianni Versace’s fashion icons were the
(London-born) Naomi Campbell and Kate
Moss with whom he produced many of
his legendary campaigns in collaboration
with world-renowned photographers.
Famously, George Michael’s chart-
Versace - Kate Moss Backstage Milan
FW 1996. © Paolo Castaldi
topping song ‘Freedom’ cast the ‘Supers’
as they lip-synced the lyrics in both his
music video and on Gianni’s catwalk.
Boldly reinvented every season,
Gianni Versace’s designs are showcased
in the exhibition through a vibrant
chronology of looks on display from
21 collections (Spring/Summer 1988 –
Autumn/Winter 1997-98). Original
runway show footage, videos, magazines
and photographs displayed alongside,
underscore the rapid changes in
aesthetics during these years.
As the exhibition looks back, it
considers how the nostalgic appeal of the
'90s Versace aesthetic underpins our
current understanding of identity, fame,
and consumption today. From social
media influencers to the resurgence of
'90s-inspired aesthetics, the obsession
with personal reinvention and excess
remains ever-present, where trends are
rapidly recycled and reinterpreted.
ALL SIGNALS GREEN FOR LT
MUSEUM OPEN DAYS
London Transport Museum is once
again throwing open the doors to its
Museum Depot in Acton, west London.
From Friday 6 to Sunday 8 June, visitors
of all ages can enjoy a fun day of greenthemed transport activities, in celebration
of how sustainable engineering and
changing technology have helped evolve
the city’s transport network.
Engineering fans can test their STEM
skills by building sustainable cars which
use wind and solar power, and celebrate
technological and sustainable transport
past, present and future in the STEM
zone. STEM activities include joining
TfL’s Systems Performance team as they
demonstrate different technology used on
London Underground and let visitors try
out VirtuRail and RailVR.
Budding conservationists can create
their very own wildlife corridor photo
collage in London Overgrown. This
immersive session shows how plants
and wildlife are reclaiming stations and
tracks no longer used by the network.
www.ltmuseum.co.uk
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
