Seeking the Soul of the Seventies at Versace
Review of Versace Spring 2025 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
soulful, seventies, casual chainmail
As boho chic has taken over the mass market, providing sub-par versions of runway collections which will be worn today and discarded tomorrow, Versace took an alternative approach to what the same time period – i.e the seventies – had to offer stylistically. Call it ‘Librarian Chic’ or ‘Thrifting in Grandmothers Closet’ this collection was a mix of cosy knits in fair-isles paired with the (unexpected) addition of chainmail. Wallpaper floral prints on a tailored suits will encourage men to go bold again with their smart choices, it would also work well as separates for women paired with wide leg denim.
The tan hue used throughout also brought together the collection and chainmail was given a new guise as an everyday option, an experimentation which actually evolved the brands most renowned material.
Although there was an attempt to Versace-fy a particular 70s style of dress, which would have been regularly seen on women entering the workforce for the first time or experiencing the hippie movement – a general free-loving society, undefined by conservative constraints – for the first time. And even though the soft watercolour florals on flippy tea dresses and chiffon tie-front tops reimagines the Versace woman in a more soulful light. There was not enough of Versace in the collection and their DNA appeared to have been flattened to fit into a broad appeal trend.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Spring 2025, while pretty and retail-ready, looked more suited to a diffusion line range as what we have come to expect from Versace is souped-up sexy and a strong grounding in its DNA, which while not for everyone set the brand apart as one which celebrated the strong Italian woman. Let’s hope for a return to the format next season.
