The Versace brand has always been on the top of trends and tendencies, setting new directions and opening new horizons for fashion activists. Today the collections of this luxury fashion house are sold in more than 100 countries worldwide, and waited by thousands of people. The popularity of this brand, established by Gianni Versace in 1978, is due to its sharp and provocative approach to design, super bright colors, and bold silhouettes. The main message behind the Versace collection is self-love and braveness.
Meaning and history
The path of the Versace fashion house is a unique success story with its ups and downs. And sometimes even tragedies. This company was founded in 1978 and was initially conceived as a company selling exquisite and rare fabrics. However, a few months later in the heart of Milan, the first branded boutique was opened with dresses designed and sewn by the founder of the company – Gianni Versace. Versace showed talent from childhood. Instead of listening to his teachers in the lessons, the Gianni boy was drawing actresses in beautiful dresses, and after school, he was rushing to his mother’s atelier, where he was learning the sewing techniques and the qualities of different fabrics.
At the age of 25 Gianni Versace was invited to work on the fashion brand of Enzo Nicosia. The young couturier’s collections were of great success and that made Gianni dream of opening his own business. Thus, he decided to join forces with his family — brother Santo and Sister Donatello — and start his own fashion house. And that was the beginning of the legendary Versace brand.
So, since the early 1980s, Versace became a fashion house, which in addition to clothing collections began to produce accessories, shoes, perfumes, cosmetics, and even premium furniture. The Versace brand turned into a whole empire.
The history of the company almost came to an end with the life of its founder, Gianni Versace, who was murdered in 1997. However, his sister Donatella took over and managed to give the fashion house a second life.
What does the Versace logo mean?
Medusa Gorgon, that image is a key detail of the Versace logo, is not only a symbol of ancient eternity but also a mythological personification of beauty and strength, which completely echoes the spirit of the Versace fashion house.
1980 – 1990
The very first logo of the legendary designer was composed of a custom monochrome inscription, executed in a narrowed sans-serif typeface, with two parts of the designer’s name placed very close to each other. The typeface of the fist Versace logo was very similar to Sophi Sophi Regular font.
1990 – 1997
The redesign of 1990 brought a bolder and smoother inscription to the brand’s visual identity. The capitalized inscription was written in a bold and smooth sans-serif typeface, which was very similar to Radiant RR Bold, with its slightly narrowed letters neat and solid. The “Gianni Versace” lettering could be placed in one line, or two levels, depending on the brand’s needs.
1993 – 1997
The iconic Medusa emblem was first introduced in 1993, and since then never left the Versace visual identity. It was a monochrome contoured image of a creature, enclosed in a wide rounded frame with a traditional Greek geometric ornament. The official color palette featured a monochrome combination, but the logo could also be seen in gold and black, with or without the logotype, repeating the typeface, designed in 1993.
1997 – 2008
The tragedy, which took the life of Gianni Versace in 1997, made the brand’s owners change its name to just “Versace” so the logo was quickly redesigned. The circular Medusa emblem was redrawn, and the wordmark in all capitals was arched under it. The face of the mythological creature became more tender and feminine, while the contours of the letters — straight and strong.
2008 – Today
The logo was refined again in 2008, with the wordmark enlarged and placed horizontally under the rounded emblem. Today there are two options of the logo used by the fashion label, one is more ornate and Jade a lot of accents and details, white the second badge featured the Medusa head drawing with a minimum of touches and lines.
Symbol
It is not for nothing that Versace is the brand it is today: every collection from this fantastic designer carried a vestige of mystery and fable, and it would get you dangerously close to some inconceivable secret. After seeing the Versace symbol for the first time, mythologists took a closer look at the young designer’s collection. They confirmed that he had exceptional serendipity, most likely, emanating from some venturesome secrets and plots.
The designer himself termed the symbol (and later the fashion house) the ‘fatal beauty’, and that can hardly be argued. Today’s fashion fans, just like ancient mythological characters, are ready to worship the mysterious and vivid images of Gianni’s collections, unable to take their eyes off from this world brand’s items.
By the way, the couturiere’s competitors did believe that the Versace symbol projected some kind of magic both onto potential clients and competitors. They and critics would come over to Versace shows with pins in their clothes, which, they believed, would protect them against the evil eye and spell.
Indeed, it was all so simple (even if it is not about easy ways). Gianni Versace was open for every little trend and would accept every new thing, from which he would derive his own style. Today, the Versace fashion house holds to the traditions set by its founder.
Emblem
Partially, the Versace emblem may reflect the brand’s striving to reach a level, which is hardly reachable for fashion grass roots. However, there is definitely something ironic about it, because Perseus’s main weapon against Medusa was… a mirror. Only someone who is apt to see his or her entire potential has the power to rise as high as Gianni Versace did.
Today, the most common terms that people use to characterize Versace collections include ‘extraordinary’, ‘ultra-trendy’, ‘exquisite’, and ‘brave’. Even today, almost forty years after Gianni Versace’s first stratospheric success, these terms have changed little and retain their fundamental meaning. Versace is a synonym of years of success, bright undertakings, and literally magic influence on fashion lovers. Very few are as good at enchanting people as Versace was.
How can you tell fake Versace?
The distinguish the original Versace item from a fake one, the company has created an online service, where you can verify the authenticity of a product by scanning the NFC tag or the QR code with your phone. The system will instantly tell you whether the item is real or fake.
What is the origin of Versace?
The Versace fashion brand was established in 1978 by Gianni Versace and his brother Santo in Italy. The first collection was quickly sold out, and in 1979 Versace opened its boutique. The first men’s collection was introduced in the same year.
Is the Versace logo a lion?
The logo of the legendary fashion house Versace is not a lion, but the head of Medusa, which, actually, can be taken for a head of a lion, as the hairstyle of the woman resembles a lion’s mane. Although, there is nothing else to do with the animal here.