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Valentino and versace

post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
What does everyone think about these brands? I think they have become slightly too gauche and southern-italian for my own tastes, despite my continuous need to dress funkily. I normally buy maybe one item from the two every season, and often pretend that it isn't Versace or Valentino. I really want America's opinion on these brands, as often things that fail over here are massive in the states (Abercrombie etc.), and vice-versa. Can you get away with wearing these brands on the NYC and LA party scenes? I never see them around, but then again with the bevvy of pneumatically-buxom beauties that proliferate the scene, I rarely pay real attention to the brand names that dance with me. --European Interloper
post #2 of 6
I think that a poor distribution strategy more than anything else decreased the desirability of the Versace brand. In the States especially, but to a lesser extent in Europe, Versace is very rarely carried by the high-end multibrand chains or boutiques that are considered fashion leaders (Barneys, Jeffrey, Ron Herman at Fred Segal, Saks, Neiman's, etc...). Rather, the Versace brands, especially the many diffusion brands like Versus, Versace Sport, and Versace Jeans Couture, are found primarily in independent men's stores that cater to an "urban" clientele. The result is that the brand has picked up a taint that it can't seem to get rid of it. Somewhat ironic, since Gianni Versace's built his name on drawing inspiration from this flash trash look to the runway. I have seen some Valentino suits that I do like, but I think that the last decade was not kind to Valentino, and that the brand has been greatly diluted by poor marketing similar to Versace. Personally, I am not a big fan of the Versace or the Valentino looks, which are much too flashy for my tastes. Maybe it's very bourgeois of me to prefer the understatement of Armani. European Interloper, I am interested in what you think of Dolce & Gabbana, since their style is quinessentially Southern Italian. On the record, I think the mainline stuff is passable at best, and that the D&G diffusion line (coincidentally made by the same company that makes Versace Jeans Couture, Ittierre) is generally unwearable. I look at anyone who's wearing any of their last couple of collections as true, tragic, fashion victims. In fact, if I were given the choice between dressing head to toe in either D&G or Abercrombie, it would be a toss-up. At least Abercrombie is comfortable and unpretentious.
post #3 of 6
Versace is pretty much as LA GUY points out a tainted label that has been watered down from its "former glory". After Gianni's death, I don't think Donatella did anything impresive with it, actually, I think she has a misunderstood concept of what her late brother really wanted. I don't bother with it, because it's not that classic, and just for the sake of owning something by that brandname I don't think has any merit to it. Valentino, that's an enigma in itself what happened to them 10 or more years ago, they were at least in the running of major fashion trends, and now I don't see them as a big influence any more, only accept in 97-98, they had those nice black double vented suits apart from that, I don't see them as something "unique". -As I keep on saying I like to see change and novell things coming from different desingers--such Milan Vukmirovic(sp) from Jill Sander, his design is not flashy(tho,u his summer line is very colorfull) but it does have an auro of a maculinity to it, which I like to see. - As for D/G, I think they still have something going, if you want a flashy or funky look these guys have a couple of pieces in their desings that could satisfy your tastes. LSI
post #4 of 6
I really don't have much of an opinion to add as to the brands, but I do want to comment on one item Versace has in the collection. First I must say that I despise pleated front pants, it is my opinion that they just look horrible. Now with that said I have to say that I truely dig the look of this one pair of pleated front pants from Versace. If you haven't seen them think tuxedo shirt styled pants with like ten pleats or more. So that earns a few points with me, but who knows if I would ever buy them though.
post #5 of 6
Harry Rosen carries a decent selection of versace and I generally try to stay out of that section of the store being a heterosexual male and all... I think that anyone other than rock stars caught wearing that stuff would be labelled homosexuals within a millisecond of being seen. I liked a pinstripe suit I saw, but other than that, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing most things Versace. Believe it or not, I do care what other people think, and whether girls like it or not would have no bearing on my decision to not wear it. I'm not gonna wear something that labels me as gay. ;p Versace is too feminine. I could see myself wearing pale pink dress shirts at some point, but versace steps over the line. As for Valentino, I like what I've seen in the ads in GQ (black and white suits mostly), but I haven't been able to find any Valentino in Montreal, so I can't say I've seen the rest (or even a significant portion) of the collection. I would wear what little I've seen of Valentino, but not at this point in my life as I'm not wearing suits everyday and a kid my age wearing a suit casually wouldn't really fit in with his undergraduate class wearing jeans and t-shirts. D&G is largely trash imo. I did see one nice Dolce & Gabbana suit though. It was nice and soft, the fabric is really hard to describe though.. It was black but there were different tones on it, it might have been lots of really dark colors, almost black in blotches on the suit. It was a clubbing sorta suit but it was really nice although I probably made it sound hideous.
post #6 of 6
Thread Starter 
LA Guy and everyone else: DG is one of my favorite lines. Although the style incorporates quintissential southern-italian looks, it is balanced by a nothern italian look, too. I wear quite a lot of it in the summer, because it embodies the feeling of selfish uncaring and trashy beauty that is conveyed on every beach around the world. I don't like Versace because it's far too flash, and as someone pointed out, it wasn't meant to be. Versace himself said that he was the most ironic man in the world, and it seems that Donetella just can't do the same thing. She thinks he was being serious about looking trashily flashy all day long, and therefore insists on churning out clohtes which embody the spirit of the street-corner Pimp. I'm ok with Valentino, they've had a difficult decade because they can't get near enough the new 'looks' without abandoning their own style. --European Interloper
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