Paris is hosting one of the largest exhibitions ever dedicated to the Italian designer Gianni Versace.
More than just a designer, he is one of the visionary figures whose baroque and sensual aesthetic continues to influence contemporary fashion. Since 5 June 2026, the Maillol Museum has been hosting a major retrospective dedicated to Gianni Versace the first in France for nearly forty years. It features nearly 450 pieces, including iconic outfits, accessories, sketches, photographs, videos and rare archive material. The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of the work of the fashion designer who redefined the codes of international glamour.
His vision of fashion and art, and his influence on popular culture and celebrities
Gianni Versace once said: “It is in my work that you will find me.” This quote from Versace serves as the central theme of an exhibition that reveals the breadth of his inspirations. Over 120 outfits engage with the worlds of Botticelli, Canova, Picasso and Andy Warhol, highlighting how the designer always drew inspiration from art history and popular culture. Photographs by Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier and Mario Testino remind us just how much imagery helped shape the Versace legend. The exhibition also highlights the designer’s close ties with the icons of his era, such as Madonna, Elton John, George Michael, Grace Jones, Prince, as well as Princess Diana and Elizabeth Hurley. It takes us back to the rise and craze surrounding supermodels such as Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Karen Mulder and Linda Evangelista. They embodied the brand’s visual and sensual power, helping to usher in a new era in fashion.
Gianni Versace and his encounter with the City of Light
Although Gianni Versace helped to establish Milan as a key fashion capital from the late 1970s onwards, Paris remained for him the historic stage, the world’s catwalk. In 1989, he launched his haute couture line, Atelier Versace, there, presented at the Ritz Hotel. His fashion shows there became legendary, veritable ceremonies blending stardom, extravagance and technical virtuosity. It was also in Paris that the designer appeared for the last time surrounded by his models, before his tragic death in 1997.
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The exhibition at the Musée Maillol is thus set to be a major event of summer 2026, inviting the public to rediscover the audacity, sensuality and visual power of a style that has become legendary. Gianni’s aesthetic was constantly evolving. From the punk and bondage influences of the 1990s to the more refined silhouettes of the latter part of his career, via the sun-drenched energy of Miami, the exhibition traces the evolution of a daring style that profoundly revitalised the dialogue between fashion, art and contemporary culture.
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