Since its founding in 1978, Versace has projected a brash and glamorous image upon the world. Modelling the company’s logo after the mythical Greek Gorgon, Gianni Versace created a bold and enduring statement of feminine power. Since his assassination in 1997, daughter Donatella Versace continues to champion fierce and empowering designs. Which makes Versace’s Fall-Winter 2021 collaboration with Dua Lipa an impeccable choice.
Dua Lipa is a Versace Girl
Lipa is no stranger to Versace. Since meeting Donatella in 2017, the same year she released her self-titled Dua Lipa LP, the British pop star has continued to cultivate a close relationship with the Greek fashion house. She has appeared in a number of past campaigns and in February this year sported a striking butterfly Versace gown to the Grammy Awards, where she received Best Pop Vocal Album for Future Nostalgia. As Lipa states on Instagram, she’s ‘a Versace girl’.
Big Dua Energy
Campaign slogans “Big Dua Energy” and “Dua Power” capture the spirit of the collaboration. In this era of feminism and equality, more women are starting to have their voices heard. Lipa, a self-described Female Alpha, amplifies the already formidable confidence embodied in Donatella’s designs. The modern woman, Lipa tells us with her confident gaze, can be gorgeous and can be loud. She is more than capable of standing up for herself.
The meaning of Versace’s ‘Le Greca’ motif
Lipa symbolises a woman who is sure of herself and combines fashion, business, and power. The choice of colours and patterns used to craft these Versace pieces reflects this. The red motif projects strength, power, libido and, as Dua Lipa herself points out, passion. These designs draw from the Versace archives while simultaneously marking the comeback of a modernised Y2K style. Very on-trend.
A revamped version for Versace’s ‘Le Greca’ pattern, the same which surrounds Versace’s Medusa logo, features prominently throughout. This cross wave design plays upon a popular ancient Greek “meander” decorative pattern. The centuries-old design represents unity, infinity, water and the eternal flow of life. The heavy emphasis on ‘Le Greca’ suggests Versace is owning the power of its fashion heritage.
Dua Lipa’s fashion ambition
Both Music and fashion find common ground as powerful forms of self-expression. In the last 10 years, both have been crossing over with increasing regularity. Rising to fame in the wake of Rihanna‘s $500 million fashion empire, Lipa is part of a new generation of pop stars who not only desire to cross over into the fashion world but own a piece of it as well.
“I’d love to do something fun in terms of fashion,” Dua Lipa told British Vogue earlier this year. “At the moment, my focus is music, but I want to be able to branch out and do something else. I would love to start a brand at some point, even if I start off really small. I have to take it in baby steps.”
Lipa showcases a handbag bearing the Medusa Versace logo, a popular feminist symbol
Bright colours, bold patterns and vibrant graphics
As pop stars are becoming bolder in their fashion ambitions traditional fashion houses are creating bolder designs to hold their ground. While Lipa may one day mastermind a luxury collection herself, Donatella reminds us why skilful designers such as her are peerless in their craft. Versace channels pop culture’s feminine energy into her concepts. Aware Lipa has already shown the world a number of Versace pieces in past, these outfits boldly stray away from Lipa’s classic Versace look.
Final thoughts on Dua Lipa and Versace
While many fashion houses are continuing to modernise with designs both dazzling on and off the screen, not all are doing it with such bombastic style. With Lipa as the brand ambassador, Donatella delivers an image that is elegant, classy, and audaciously powerful all in one. As Lipa suggests, this new campaign, which will be revealed in full on August 30 along with a collaborative film, is one to invest in. Her strikingly red Versace collaboration reflects the colourful and individualistic tone which will define fashion in 2021.
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