A flamboyant and visionary figure in international fashion, Gianni Versace left a lasting mark on his era through a bold aesthetic in which glamour, sensuality, and baroque opulence converge. Beginning June 5 and throughout the summer of 2026, Paris—capital of global fashion—will host at the Musée Maillol the first major French retrospective devoted to the designer since 1986.
Image Above: © Arches London Bridge / Dreamrealizer
Gianni Versace Retrospective brings together nearly 450 exceptional pieces: original creations and silhouettes, accessories, sketches, decorative objects, photographs, videos, and rare interviews that offer a comprehensive overview of Gianni Versace’s work.
In a boldly pop scenography designed by Nathalie Crinière, the exhibition traces a career devoted entirely to creation and reveals the many sources of inspiration that shaped Versace’s universe: his beginnings in the family atelier in Calabria, the iconography of the Catholic religion, the influence of Greek sculpture and Italian opera, as well as his fascination with the Baroque and its opulent prints.
Already acclaimed in London, Berlin, and Málaga, as well as in several European cities, the exhibition now naturally finds its place in Paris, where fashion asserts itself as an artistic and cultural language in its own right. Its Paris presentation comes at a particularly symbolic moment, on the eve of the 30th anniversary of the designer’s death and what would have been his 80th birthday.
From Italian modernism to references to the antiquity of Magna Graecia, from the splendor of the Baroque to the influences of Pop Art, the exhibition reveals a fashion nourished by history, art, and popular culture.
The creations enter into dialogue with the worlds of Botticelli, Canova, and Picasso, but also with the graphic energy of Pop Art, embodied by Andy Warhol, while contemporary artists such as Julian Schnabel testify to the designer’s deep connection with the visual culture of his time.
The exhibition also evokes the way this aesthetic was captured by the great photographers of fashion, among them Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier and Mario Testino, whose photographs helped spread around the world the spectacular and sensual image of Versace’s creations.
The exhibition also highlights the close links between Versace and major figures of popular culture. From music icons such as Madonna, Elton John, George Michael, Grace Jones and Prince, to personalities from cinema and the international stage such as Princess Diana and Elizabeth Hurley, many contributed to spreading his flamboyant style.
It also recalls the decisive role of supermodels such as Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Karen Mulder, and Linda Evangelista in the emergence of a new era of fashion. Videos of fashion shows, photographs from shoots, and magazine archives revive the energy of this period.
From the punk and bondage inspirations of the 1990s to the more minimalist silhouettes at the end of his career, via the sun‑soaked energy of Miami and the flamboyant iconography of his silk prints, the exhibition retraces the evolution of a daring style that profoundly renewed the dialogue between fashion, art, and contemporary culture.
For the designer born in Calabria in 1946, Paris was the
runway of the world: the essential place where one had to be seen. Yet in the late 1970s he helped shift the centerof gravity of fashion toward Milan, where Italian shows asserted themselves with new energy, attracting media, stars, and collectors around luxury ready‑to‑wear. Despite this, Paris remained the historic stage where the greatest French couture houses presented their work.
WHEN?
Exhibition dates: Friday 5. Juny to Sunday, September 6. 2026
WHERE?
Museum Maillol
61 Rue de Grenelle
75007 Paris
Frankreich
