Twenty years on from when Liz Hurley first stepped out in that infamous Versace safety pin dress, the fashion label has granted the iconic frock a triumphant return to the catwalk.
Back when Liz was the little-known girlfriend of Hugh Grant, the scandalous dress by designer Gianni Versace rocketed her to international stardom after she wore it to the 1994 London premiere of boyfriend Hugh’s classic rom-com Four Weddings And A Funeral.
With a super-plunging neckline, the dress appeared to be barely held together by a series of safety pins at the side that bared a lot of skin. After stepping out in the frock British beauty Liz, who was 29 at the time, landed campaigns with the likes of Estee Lauder.
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Two decades on, the fashion label that originally created it has reimagined the iconic little black dress, sending a slightly more conservative version down the runway at the Versace show at New York Fashion Week.
The label is now helmed by Gianni Versace’s sister, Donatella, after the designer’s tragic shooting death in 1997. The designer’s funeral was attended by many high-profile celebrities and friends including Princess Diana, Elton John and Luciano Pavarotti.
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The safety-pin dress has since become so iconic that it was the centrepiece of an exhibition honouring the designer at London’s Victoria And Albert Museum last year, and in 2008 it was named the “greatest red-carpet outfit of all time” in a nationwide fashion poll.
The new version of the frock has asymmetrical and features a mini hemline instead of the full-length version with scandalous thigh split that Liz wore, and the plunging neckline has been raised to a higher neck. Who would have thought that fashion would become more conservative?
Fashionistas looking to buy their own piece of fashion history (reimagined) had better have deep pockets. A remake of the original that was released by Versace in 2007, and was seen being worn by the likes of Lady Gaga, retailed at posh British department store Harrods for nearly $20,000 (£11,000).
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