The Spring Summer 2026 show marked a turning point for Versace. For the first time since the House was founded in 1978, a collection was presented without a member of the Versace family at the creative helm.
Instead, new creative director Dario Vitale was in the lead role in arguably one of the most challenging debuts the industry has seen for some time. For his first collection for Versace, he made the astute decision to go back to the house codes, and particuarly Gianni Versace’s late ’80s designs.
The collection drew on the foundations of the brand, unearthing its essence through archival materials that included letters, photographs and ephemera. These references were not simply studied but embodied, expressed through clothing that carried forward the dualities on which Versace was built: body and mind, restraint and indulgence, elegance and impulse.
Staged at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana in Milan, the setting underscored both the weight of history and the sense of renewal shaping this season. The show explored profoundly Italian codes of dress, yet with a disruptive edge. Classical influences and the grandeur of Magna Grecia informed the collection, but they were twisted to highlight contradiction and sensuality.
Archive-rooted tailoring, shirting, denim and leather were reframed for contemporary life. The refined markers of bourgeois style were countered with a reckless sensuality, producing looks that felt simultaneously polished and undone. Versace’s signature metal dresses appeared with an ease that suggested everyday wear, while art deco accents pointed towards decadence for its own sake.
Layered styling pushed the dialogue between classicism and streetwear. Patched leather blousons, striped denim and knitwear over crisp shirts highlighted Italian precision reinterpreted for modern contexts. Each garment was designed to feel lived in, responsive to the body in movement.
Colour was also key. Denim appeared in saturated Mediterranean tones, leather was etched and patched for tactile impact, and prints carried the House’s signature lurid palette. Trompe l’œil chains, elaborate beading and tightly draped silhouettes reinforced an atmosphere of glamour and control.
The collection functioned as both homage and redefinition. By engaging directly with the House’s archive and its mythology, Versace presented a language of dressing that is sensual, contradictory and unrestrained. In the absence of a family name at the helm, this season positioned Versace as a brand firmly rooted in its past yet recalibrated for a new era.
