July’s summer sky saw a monumental exhibition opening at Arches London Bridge, and with it, a moment of fashion history returns to the stage — bold, unapologetic, and heartbreakingly brilliant. Gianni Versace Retrospective is the first and largest showcase of the legendary designer’s work ever mounted in the UK, with over 450 original pieces, from iconic red carpet looks to never-before-seen sketches and intimate details of a legacy that continues to shape style and culture.
This is not a brand exhibition. It isn’t polished by corporate narratives or diluted by nostalgia. It’s curated with rare emotional precision by Karl von der Ahé and Saskia Lubnow, two visionaries who have made it their mission to preserve and recontextualise Gianni Versace’s world. And for the London edition, the focus is clear: this is about Gianni and Britain — a cultural, aesthetic, and personal love story.
As visitors move through the 11,000 square foot industrial arches, the exhibition unfolds like a living storyboard: Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss in defining ’90s runway moments. Lady Diana immortalised through the elegance she radiated in Gianni’s designs. Elton John, a dear friend who opened the door to British society for Gianni. George Michael, Liz Hurley, and others who turned Versace’s glamour into pop mythology. These are not just garments. They are statements. Dreams. Cultural markers of a time when fashion didn’t just follow the zeitgeist — it made it.
In the opening gallery, a large quote from Gianni sets the tone:
“My collection? It’s going to be very punk, with a lot of black, leather and piercing, because punk is joy, it’s nonconformism… I’d like to see everyone wearing punk, right down to Lady Diana, whom I think would look great in a knitwear dress with holes punched in it.”
It’s witty. Subversive. Uncompromising. Just like him.
When I entered the exhibition, I felt the breath of my own teenage years rushing back. I remember exactly where I was on 15 July 1997, when news broke that Gianni Versace had been killed outside his Miami home. The fashion world fell silent. The glamour, the power, the gold — suddenly froze. For my generation, that day wasn’t just the end of a life. It marked the end of an era. Gianni wasn’t just a designer. He was part of our visual imagination, a name we whispered when we dreamed of silk dresses, high heels, and magazine covers.
We grew up watching his designs dominate fashion TV. We pored over editorials. We learned that power could be sensual, that femininity could be armoured in metal mesh and leather. Versace’s women were goddesses. His men, unapologetically bold. And all of it shimmered with a theatricality that was never shallow. It was art, tailored.
So walking through Gianni Versace Retrospective felt personal. And in London — of all places — it makes perfect sense.
The UK was crucial to Gianni’s global rise, and this exhibition doesn’t just state that — it shows it. From his Bond Street flagship store to the legions of British celebrities who became his muses, London gave Gianni both an audience and an attitude. Suzy Menkes, Anna Wintour, and other British fashion voices were among his most influential supporters. And the city’s cultural DNA — punk, pop, provocation — fed directly into his creative fire.
One gallery focuses entirely on Gianni’s connection to Britain. A plaque reads:
“Gianni Versace and Britain: a business and love story in many acts, leaving a lasting urban imprint on his fashion.”
The tone is not sentimental. It’s analytical, playful, emotional — just like the man himself. And it works. Curators von der Ahé and Lubnow have chosen to tell this story not through timeline or press clips, but through energy. The way each look is staged. The order in which you meet them. The rhythm of colour, texture, silhouette. Every step deeper into the exhibition feels like peeling back a layer of Gianni’s relationship with the city — and with the people who made it swing.
One room evokes the feeling of backstage chaos. Another one — dimmed and dramatic — gives the stage to archival runway videos that still burn with sensual intensity. You don’t just see Gianni Versace’s work. You feel it, especially in the absence of glass between you and the pieces. It’s tactile. Alive. Vulnerable.
The exhibition was made possible by private collectors — individuals who have preserved Gianni’s work not as merchandise, but as memory. Some of them were former collaborators. Some were fans. All of them, custodians. Their generosity, and the curators’ vision, bring to London a retrospective that doesn’t just look back. It asks questions about how we wear power today. About what fashion meant — and still means — as identity, rebellion, art.
This isn’t about branding. There’s no filter of luxury PR here. It’s Versace, unvarnished. Loud. Joyful. Melancholic. Real.
As I reached the end of the exhibition, I was struck by a final message. A quote from Gianni — sharp, beautiful, and still radical:
“It is nice to have money to buy things,
but it is better to take risks and be alive.”
That is what this exhibition is. A risk. A memory. A resurrection. A personal walk down memory lane. And it’s one London will never forget.
Gianni Versace Retrospective is open from 16 July 2025 at Arches London Bridge. Tickets at www.gianniversacelondon.co.uk
