Borås, home of the Swedish Textile Industry takes a close look. The 50 square meters scarf temple as pilgrimage site.
Competence in Textiles
Embroidered signature pieces, the shirt army and a never seen before scarf temple, a pilgrimage site of 9 stations with a series of 9 short 3D animations with Gianni Versace's patterns and a compilation film of all fashion shows.
| START | : 30 November 2019 |
| END | : 16 August 2020 |
| OPENING EVENT | : Press Conference, Panel Discussion, Round Tour |
| VENUE NAME | : Textilmuseet |
Gianni Versace never came to Sweden and Versace never opened a store in Sweden.
This was the special attraction for a retrospective of Gianni Versace's works in this northern country with its strict Protestant traditions and forms. The exhibition, which opened on November 30th 2019, took place in the Swedish Textile Museum in the city of Borås in the west of the country, not far from the metropolis of Gothenburg. For over 100 years Borås was the “Swedish Manchester”, the center of industrial textile production in Northern Europe. Even today, after the last factories were closed around 40 years ago, this tradition still shapes the city. And with the Swedish Textile University and numerous research institutions, a lot of know-how about textiles has been preserved in Borås. The experienced handling of textiles by the museum team set a new focus. In spite of this, and perhaps because of this, the staging of the exhibition under the title “Crossing Boundaries” was a break with northern European traditions and an attempt to make Gianni Versace's Italian attitude towards life tangible for visitors.
The large hall was structured like a Catholic pilgrimage route with nine stations, the dominant color combination of the set design was based on the purple of the Catholic Church. The absolute highlight was the construction of a temple made of glass, which stood precisely in the middle of the hall. The exhibition in Sweden was a great media success and the best-attended exhibition in the history of the Swedish Textile Museum.
F/W 1994-95,
Oroton is an invention of Gianni Versace from the inspiration source of Byzantine mosaic art. The new draping effect with its dazzling lustre is an attempt to achieve dynamic tension between the heaviness of metal and the lightness of the visual effect.
F/W 1991-92,
Hand-embroidered leather (aniline nappa) jacket with applications of strass, beads, stones, braid, golden lamella spirals and a Persian lamb collar.
S/S 1997,
Original Versace Jeans Signature and georgette blouse with Jim Dine hearts as repeating pattern. American pop art artist is associated with the city of Borås.
Gianni Versace was inspired by the great tradition of Greco-Roman and Italian culture. One of the highlights of this culture is the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The impression for the visitors is overwhelming: The not too large room focuses the emotions and creates an image of the "Kingdom of Heaven" so that the eyes and thoughts of the visitors can wander and enjoy the colors and patterns. This perception was created by building a glass chapel. Gianni Versace's famous silk scarves resembled church windows or Michelangelo's paintings. This simple accessory provides the easiest access to the aesthetic universe of Gianni Versace. Stepping into the temple, which was located completely in the middle of the room, became an emotional, almost sacred experience with the many shapes and colors from Italian cultural history. The circumferential inscription with Gianni Versace's curriculum vitae is an additional reference.
Team Gianni
Rossella Catapano, Manuella Brambatti and Bruno Gianesi
Private Collectors
Antonio Caravano and Sabina Albano, Franco Jacazzi
49 MILLION
MEDIA IMPACT
40 000 VISITORS
MORE THAN 290
COLLECTION PIECES
DAILY TICKET
SALES
„Versace i bakspegeln ger en visuell kick“
„Versace: Vinterns stora modeutställning på Textilmuseet“
"Versace utställning i Borås med högljudd glamour och maxade mönster“
“La moda glamour di Gianni Versace in Svezia. Mostra sul grande stilista a Borås, cittá d'arte e del tessile"
“Versace Ausstellung in Schweden: Textilmuseum in Borås lädt zur großen Retrospektive ein”
"Un'icona del Made in Italy negli anni più glamour della carriera: ecco la mostra dedicata al fashion designer che a fine novembre conquisterà Borås, da 400 anni centro tessile d' eccellenza"
P U B L I C A T I O N S » worldwide media coverage
NATIONAL PRESS/MEDIA
Newspaper: Expressen, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, Göteborgs Posten, Dagens Industri, Sydsvenskan, Borås Tidningen and many others
TV/Radio: SvT1 Morgonstudion Live Interview, Sveriges Radio Kulturnytt P1, Sveriges Radio P4 Väst
Magazine: ELLE Sweden, GALA Sweden, Odalisque Magazine, BON
INTERNATIONAL PRESS/MEDIA
Newspaper: ANSA Italy, Giornale di Sicilia, Blickk Norway
Magazine: Posh Magazine, fashion network Italy, Scan Magazine GB, tripadvisor
Blogs and posts (social media) are not listed.
