Safety Pin Fashion ~Versace Love ~ Design, Trend or Costume?

So it's my favourite time of year, well favourite holiday, Halloween soon. I love to dress up, to design and create. I find it very disappointing that the older we get the less we embrace the costume. So I am happy to announce that this year I not only get to enjoy Halloween but also a "Reeling in the Years" themed event. So costume time! But I had no idea what to wear. My friend, who invited me had decided on Bad Sandy from Grease, so I needed an equally impressive costume....

 

Liz Hurley's, Versace safety pin from the 1994 premier of Four Weddings and a Funeral!

This dress is famous, simply referred to as "That Dress". It has been voted No.1 in a poll on the most iconic red carpet dresses compiled by Debenhams.

It was shocking and produced much controversy in the media at the time, but did it really change the way we dress? Versace was a man who embraced the female form and to quote Liz herself "Unlike many other designers, Versace designs clothes to celebrate the female form rather than eliminate it."

Today we don't bat an eyelid to the outfits or  it would be better to say lack there of, of celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Rihanna.

Versace may have made it famous but so many other designers have followed suit and used pins in their creations, including Moschino, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs.

Versace has been an inspiration to me for many moons. I have designed and worn safety pin dresses in the past, embraced plunging necklines and skies the limit thigh slits but now I have set my sights on recreating "That Dress" as an iconic 90's costume. I hope I do it justice.

Wikipedia tells me the design basics:

Design

The black dress was made from pieces of silk and lycra fabric, with oversized gold safety pins placed at "strategical places". The dress was wide open at the front, from the neck down to at least half way across the bosom, with two slimline straps on the shoulders each side connected by a gold safety pin and two cut-away parts on both sides that were held together with six gold safety pins on each side and one at the top of the cut-away on each side connecting it to the bosom section. The dress is said to be punk-inspired, "neo-punk",and something which "emerged from the sari development" according to Gianni Versace himself.


I still don't know if there were two thigh slits? From photos of Liz walking up the stairs it looks as if there were? I wish I could see it up close to investigate!!!!

Also I am not using silk, it is just a costume so I am using a stretchy jersey like fabric that clings nicely to the body. €15 per meter from Hickeys Fabrics. Also I don't think I will go so low on the neckline but we'll see, I plan on fitting a bra to the dress so give me support and so I don't have annoying bra straps every where!!!

I painted some safety pins gold and added some gold buttons to make them a bit fancier like Versace's.

Here is the finished product....

Another great night with the Macra crew!!

xx