Versace | The Jungle Print Capsule

February 23, 2000 is the night that Jennifer Lopez wore the infamous jungle print dress to the Grammy awards and subsequently made Donnatella Versace one of the most influential people in fashion. The design made its debut three years after Gianni Versace - founder and brother of Donatella - was famously assassinated.
Having already been worn by three people before her - the designer herself, model Amber Valetta and Geri Halliwell, just one month before at a red carpet event - she went against the advice of her stylist and wore the dress regardless. Made from fine silk, the barely there dress was open from the top with a full length slit up the front and was taped in place. Until this time, body tape wasn't commercially available and it set the trend for what we now refer to as fashion tape. Not only influential to the fashion world, the surrounding hype took the advancement of the world wide web - specifically search engineGoogle - to new heights. The internet was still in its infancy and Google reported it was their most searched for image to date, marking a new way in which people chose to view images. As a consequence, just a month later Google Images was launched as a way to support any future demand of this kind.

Fast forward two decades to the SS20 Versace fashion show and the revival of the dress to mark its anniversary. Jennifer closed the show to raptuous applause from the audience as she walked down the runway in an almost identical version, customised for her without the sleeves. Not only did she look just as amazing as she did 20 years before, people were just as in awe at the dress, emphasising just how timeless and iconic the design is. 

The original, long sleeved version of the dress is available to buy in Versace's current SS20 collection here

The entire Jungle collection is absolutely incredible, we all dreamed about that dress worn by Jennifer Lopez! Of course that dress is one of my favourites of all time from womenswear collection, and the kidswear is awesome too! If I had to choose a favourite piece from the new capsule collection, I would choose the printed skirt - it’s a must-have for a little fashionista like Chloe. We will be able to use it time and time again, from a day walking in the city to an evening with friends!

Gianni Versace comes from southern Italy originally. Moving to Milan gave Versace the opportunity to realise his dreams, allowing his brand to gain notoriety. I think if he didn’t leave his home town to move to Milan, perhaps Versace as a fashion house would not exist today. Milan offers opportunities that other cities can’t. On the other hand, it must be said that Gianni Versace has contributed greatly to the city of Milan as one of the designers that has made it famous all over the world as a reference point in fashion. We can say they chose each other!

Milan has been a reference point in fashion since the 1970s thanks to the 3 G’s: Gianni Versace, Giorgio Armani and Gianfranco Ferré. Milan has a unique sense of style that has evolved to incorporate different cultures and trends, thanks to those who have moved here from all over the world. But what makes it truly unique is the ability of fashion lovers to include vintage-inspired items in their looks in combination with iconic cuts, making it elegant and subdued, luxurious and discreet.

- Quadrilatero della moda (or Quadrilatero d’oro) -
The biggest shopping  area situated in the old town. From Via Montenapoleone to Via della Spiga, from Corso Venezia to Via Manzoni, here you can find the best luxury boutiques from clothes, accessories and jewellery to elegant coffee shops.
- The Brera district -
It is small but you can see exactly what Milan once was. Here you can find vintage stores and the best craft shops. I love Brera because there are always new brands waiting to be discovered that have niche products, and also because you can find the best historic coffee shops and restaurants where you can sit and watch the people walking by. So relaxing!
- Palazzo Morando -
This is the old residence of Morando’s family and has become a museum of Milan, situated in Sant’Andrea street. Since 2010, a section of the first floor has hosted the collection Moda e Costume that includes around 6,000 items of clothes, footwear, accessories and haute couture from 1990s. If you are interested in fashion history you must stop by.

It’s easy to see the impact the fashion industry has had on Milan, most of the people I know work in the fashion industry between press offices, showrooms, publishing and PR. The fashion industry has created a lot of jobs for people from southern Italy. We have some of the best fashion schools here such as Istituto Marangoni and IED, which is why we are home to so many foreign students. Milan never stops, from fashion weeks to events to promote new products. I owe my own job as a fashion photographer to the industry too!

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