Donatella, Kaia, Mayowa, and More Weigh in on Why Versace’s Spring 2018 Tribute Collection Was the Best Show Ever

Supermodels! Prints! Sex! Suits! There was much to love about Versace’s spring 2018 ready-to-wear collection. Presented in Milan in September 2017, 20 years after Gianni Versace’s death, his sister Donatella made this show a personal and emotional tribute  to her brother. It was also a testament to Donatella’s strength and commitment to keeping the house that Gianni built always vital and speaking to the present moment.

Organized in sections, the show featured reworkings of prints, materials, silhouettes and motifs first designed by Gianni Versace  in the 1990s. New to some and familiar to others were signature motifs, Baroque, Trésors de la Mer, and animal prints, of course. Pretty dresses in the pastel palette of Miami Beach clung to the body or revealed skin through slits. Pop culture was celebrated with references to James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, Pop Art, and American Vogue.

“The new generation doesn’t know the story of Gianni and fashion, so I thought I would tell them a story of what Gianni represented, and what was in his heart,” Donatella tells Vogue in the latest installment of The Best Show Ever video series. Also sharing their experiences of working on this unforgettable show, with its surprise supermodel finale, are Pat McGrath, Kaia Gerber, Mayowa Nicholas and others. “Donatella, she makes you feel like you belong there,” says Caroline Trentini, “and that’s a very special feeling.” At heart, Versace has always been, and always will be, about family.