Donatella Versace s strong suit is just that: her slim, mean tailoring for the rock-star wife who has graduated to a more sophisticated phase of her life. She s moved beyond road trips and hanging around backstage; now she lives uptown and drops the kids off at school in the limo, on her way to a day of lunch and shopping.
Maybe she’s settling down, but she still wants her style with some attitude. Versace knows how to do that. She loves a wild Western fringe or a big, mad dyed fur, but she can also take care of the more quotidian needs of the rock and celebrity aristocracy. She cuts a fine beige pantsuit, a white pencil skirt and a belted caramel coat with distinction, and throws in an oversize squashy ostrich bag as an enough-said status accessory. About-town daywear can also include an amped-up couture-detailed biker jacket, maybe in pink leather or black satin, with patches of ribbing and crisscross lacing on the sleeve and up the back.
At night, of course, there s bound to be a red carpet or two. Versace s solutions came in multiple variations of the knockout corset dress. In strong color, like absinthe or red, or more muted ivory and lingerie pink, they were boned and fitted like a second skin, trailing cascades of chiffon in the skirts. Still, even her dresses couldn t distract from the impact of another idea: a definitive tux, lean in the jacket and with the skinniest possible pants. It s the kind of simple, powerful statement that separates the women from the girls.
