Versace merging its men’s and women’s shows

The house of Versace has announced plans to merge its menswear and womenswear shows into one co-ed show starting next year.

The joint display will be the first time that Versace has staged complete menswear and womenswear collections together on the same runway. Though Versace has occasionally included womenswear looks in menswear shows, and vice versa.

As a result, this combined fall winter 2020 collection show will be staged in February as part of the women’s ready-to-wear edition of Milan Fashion Week, scheduled from Feb. 18 to Feb. 24. Hence, Versace will skip the Milan menswear season, due to take place from January 10 to 14.

The Versace show is typically a lynchpin of any Milan season, and in September witnessed the most talked about single moment of the entire international runway season when Jennifer Lopez took an extended tour of the Milan Fiera runway to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the legendary cutaway jungle print silk chiffon dress – fashion’s greatest Instagram feeding frenzy of 2019.

“Today, we live in a society in which we are all talking to one another and influencing the way we look at things. This has happened to me as well and this is why I felt the need to concentrate my creative focus, and design a collection with one point of view, one vision, one world of Versace. It’s not just about inclusivity and diversity, it’s about being equal, also on the runway,” explained the house’s chief creative officer Donatella Versace in a press release.

The Milan-based fashion house said that the move “celebrates the personality and fluidity of the House’s designs,” adding that the house “will experiment” with the February show.

“The decision to merge shows comes at a time when Versace’s collections are becoming more intertwined with the cross pollination of ideas and themes informing both the men’s and women’s designs,” the house stressed.

The house of Versace was acquired by US group Capri Holdings, which also owns Michael Kors, for $2.1 billion in December 2018.

Ironically, the news comes just as certain media properties were speculating that there was a major movement by key fashion brands to stop presenting co-ed shows and instead stage separate men's and women's shows.

Not chez Versace.

Versace merging its men’s and women’s shows

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