A Versace Retrospective, Australian Fashion Laureates Winners

ICONS ONLY: Twenty-five years after his death, Gianni Versace is the subject of an upcoming retrospective at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands that bills itself as the largest exhibition of the Italian fashion designer’s work.

The exhibition features women’s and men’s outfits, accessories, fabrics, drawings, interior designs and show footage from Versace’s heyday in the 1990s, sourced from the archives of leading private collectors of his work. The Versace family and company are not involved and did not endorse the event.

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Visitors will be able to see iconic creations like the safety pin dress that propelled Elizabeth Hurley to international stardom in 1994, on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and key looks from the fall 1991 runway that crystallized the supermodel moment, with a cast including Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell.

“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,” the museum said in a statement.

“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,” it added.

“Gianni Versace Retrospective,” curated by Karl von der Ahé and Saskia Lubnow, is set to run from Dec. 3 to May 7. It’s organized in collaboration with collectors Antonio Caravano, with Sabina Albano as collection curator, as well as Salvatore Alderuccio and Franco Jacassi, the owner of Milan store Vintage Delirium.

The exhibition is organized around the designer’s sources of inspiration, with each gallery featuring a unique decor. One of them is dedicated to ’90s U.S. pop culture and features music by Elton John and art by Andy Warhol, who inspired Versace’s spring 1991 collection, featuring multicolored prints of Marilyn Monroe. — JOELLE DIDERICH

AUSTRALIAN WINNERS: Australian artist Ken Done has won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 Australian Fashion Laureates.

Considered the industry’s pinnacle trophy, the award was among seven Australian Fashion Laureates that were presented at a lunch at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday.

One of the country’s most prominent artists, whose work has been featured in over 100 solo exhibitions in Australia and around the world, Done, now 82, abandoned a successful career as a creative director at advertising agencies in New York, London and Sydney to focus on painting full-time in 1980. His vibrant, naive depictions of Australiana and notably, Sydney landmarks helped define the ’80s cultural zeitgeist in Australia and proved a commercial goldmine, tapping in particular the decade’s Japanese tourism boom.

From his gallery in Sydney, Done and his wife Judy started selling T-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with his prints, which proved popular. They expanded into swimwear, resortwear, bed linen and other homewares. By the end of the decade they were operating 15 shops around the country.

Ken Done merchandise was not only a star player in Olivia Newton-John’s ’80s retail chain Koala Blue, which operated in the U.S., Asia and Europe, he designed the brand’s logo. His many licensing arrangements, during his heyday, included deals with Mervyn’s department stores and Bart Jacobs in California.

Designer of the Year at this year’s awards was won by sibling design duo Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman, of the Camilla and Marc label.

Emerging Designer of the Year was won by Lesleigh Jermanus, of the Alémais label — Jermanus’ second major award of the year, after taking home the 2022 National Designer Award in July.

Indigenous Designer of the Year was awarded to Laura Thompson, cofounder of the Aboriginal social enterprise and fashion label Clothing The Gaps.

Sarah Munro and Robert Sebastian Grynkofki of the Sarah and Sebastian jewelry brand received the Sustainable Innovation of the Year Award. Long focussed on sustainability, the duo recently pledged to donate one million Australian dollars, or $667,000 at current exchange, to ocean conservation efforts over the next decade.

The Carla Zampatti Award for Excellence in Leadership was won by Leila Naja Hibri, chief executive officer of the Australian Fashion Council.

The People’s Choice Award, which is decided by a public vote conducted by Australian Fashion Week naming rights sponsor Afterpay, was won by Rebecca Vallance. — PATTY HUNTINGTON

BRUNELLO’S NEW HOME: Brunello Cucinelli has seemingly put down roots in Los Angeles.

The designer, executive chairman and creative director of his namesake fashion brand, is the new owner of a 1920s-era Spanish Colonial Revival home in Runyon Canyon.

The residence was purchased for $5 million in an off-market deal, according to Dirt, revealing the property was previously owned by entertainment executive Robert Geary for decades. It’s reportedly a five-bedroom, three-bathroom house with two floors and more than 3,800 square feet. The site notes that Susan Andrews and Justin Roberts of Compass represented the seller, while Brent Watson and Marco Salari, both of Coldwell Banker Realty, worked with Cucinelli on the deal.

Born in Castel Rigone, near Perugia in Italy, Cucinelli is known to reside in a 17th-century villa in Solomeo, Italy, since the ’80s. His company headquarters are nearby. The brand, which went public in 2012, has expanded greatly since its early days. Launching the business in 1978 with a line of dyed cashmere knitwear, Cucinelli is known for offering a wide range of luxury goods internationally.

In L.A., his neighbors will reportedly include composer Harald Kloser, filmmaker Alan Ball, actress Katey Sagal and actor Julian Morris. — RYMA CHIKHOUNE

IN THE GARDEN: The gilded pop-up.

British jewelry brand Missoma has opened its first pop-shop in London’s Covent Garden. The business is on an upward trajectory, in 2021 they reported a 74 percent growth in sales to 33 million pounds, compared to 19 million pounds in 2020.

A temporary physical store is meant to allow the brand to test the temperature of retail. Missoma already has counters inside department stores Selfridges and Liberty’s Jewellery Hall.

“This feels like a new opportunity because it gives us the freedom to experiment and create any way we want to. We can also make the rules, like putting on Missoma x Mirabeau Late Night Shopping every Thursday and exclusive styling events that’ll feature some incredible partners [to be announced soon],” Marisa Hordern, chief executive officer and creative director of the brand, told WWD.

“As we grow, we’re creating physical spaces where we can connect with our community, and our community can connect with our product in real life. We understand that physical retail is vital to increasing our market share and scaling our brand,” she continued.

There was a demand from the Missoma community for a brick-and-mortar. The brand will be neighbors with the annual Christmas Tree in Covent Garden, a conscious decision from Hordern.

“Our jewelry is handmade by artisans — from being designed in our Notting Hill studio, to having hand-cut gemstones embedded by hand and hand-painting our enamel,” said Hordern, honing in on the four pillars of Missoma that have helped the brand succeed: community, craftsmanship, sustainability and styling.

The business is in the process of working on their Worn on Repeat campaign, which focuses on longevity and wearability. “This also ties in with our efforts to create less, but better,” added Horden.

“A major focus will be our sustainability initiatives and how we work to reduce our carbon footprint. This year we’ll be taking our first steps into circularity, partnering with Central Saint Martins. We will be giving MA Design students our deadstock jewelry to upcycle into brand new pieces from which we’ll pick a winning design. This design will inspire a limited-edition collection we’ll sell on site,” Horden said. — HIKMAT MOHAMMED

STELLA’S HOLIDAY: For the holiday season, Stella McCartney has partnered with Neiman Marcus to debut a partywear capsule of ready-to-wear and accessories. To celebrate the exclusive collection, Neiman Marcus is hosting three pop-ups in its Coral Cables, Florida; North Park, Texas, and San Francisco locations.

“Blending a celebratory spirit with conscious sensibilities, the capsule embodies a timeless sex appeal on a vibrant, nature-inspired palette,” the brand said in a statement.

The capsule collection includes 10 cocktail and evening dresses, two vegan Falabella bags and a crystal mesh slide in the brand’s cruelty-free and responsible materials. McCartney’s dresses boast a celebratory attitude with lead-free, heat-affixed crystal accents, as seen on the shoulder of an asymmetric purple and red silky forest-friendly viscose double satin Grecian gown or on statement body-hugging netted cocktail dresses. Both the collection’s crystal embellishments and twisted, cutout and sculptural bra details on jersey numbers were said to be references to the designer’s fall collection. — EMILY MERCER

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