Atelier Versace Fall 2012

There was no shortage of glitz at Atelier Versace’s Fall 2012 show on Monday, the first full-on runway outing for the couture label in nearly a decade. In fact, Donatella seemed intent on summoning the flamboyant spirit of the label’s founder, Gianni. The show was held in the storied pool room of the Ritz Paris — the same place Gianni used to hold his show — with the pool covered over and three sleek glass panels providing an electric-hued backdrop.
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The theme, the show notes stated, was “deconstruction and reconstruction in all its various forms.” This manifested itself in the perforated-leather jackets, plasticized-strip minidresses, and pieced-and-stitched gowns — with slits up to there — that came down the runway glittering with crystal beads and in pastel metallics. Silhouettes, too, played with the idea of juxtaposition and revision, in skin-revealing layers and curve-enhancing forms: the skirts of gowns billowed out from second-skin corsets, and sharp-flared jackets nipped in at the waist with tough leather belts.

Photos courtesy Versace