Donatella Versace

>> Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane tapped the rough-and-tumble youths of London's Camden Town for their Fall 2012 Versus collection. "The skinheads, the glitter, the acid tie-dye," Kane described backstage. And sure enough, there was a grittiness to the collection — and it was evident from the moment the first model appeared on the runway clad in a leather-sleeved jacket. Colors were dark and moody — burgundy, violet, and acid yellow — and everything from the skintight pants to the short little dresses was printed in psychedelic graphics or slashed-and-laced with grommets. "She's a rebellious, tough, angry, modern girl," Kane explained.

For Versus Fall 2012, Donatella Versace and Christopher Kane took it to the streets of London, more specifically to the Camden underground scene. Translation: it's all about the tough girl with a confident punk attitude and a penchant for grittier, trippier silhouettes. Between the bright tie-dye prints and rocker-chick lace-up minidresses, we could tell that Versus was honing in on its playful spirit and younger edge. While the collection offered a solid lineup of minis, over-the-knee leather boots, shredded-front tees, and general punk-appropriate attire, there were also some super-structured leather outerwear that struck us as totally wearable, no matter your personal style preference. Although Donatella and Christopher combined rougher elements — rock music, teenage angst, and more — the result can be easily transitioned into a sexier cocktail look. See more Versus details below.

• Trends: Bright tie-dye-meets-ikat prints, lace-up minis, strong leather silhouettes, and rounded shoulders.
• Colors: Fuchsia, turquoise, yellow, black, burgundy, and midnight blue.
• Key Piece: The punk-rock minidresses that featured sequins, psychedelic prints, or lace-up details.
• Accessories: Boxy purses, over-the-knee leather rocker boots, and tough biker boots with colorful piping.
• Who Would Wear It: Ladies who aren't afraid of showing a little skin with more than just a little attitude, like Heidi Klum, Diane Kruger, and Mila Kunis.

>> Donatella Versace went tough and glam for Fall 2012, offering up a collection filled with Byzantine crosses, chain mail, burnout velvet, studded leather — and plenty of "dark seduction". Silhouettes were short and body-con, fabrics decadent and fiercely embellished, and — adding to the rebellious mood — models wore supersevere mini bangs, à la Rooney Mara.

Donatella Versace hosted at an exclusive dinner at Paris's Restaurant Lasserre on Monday to unveil the Versace Étoile De La Mer eyewear collection. Diane Kruger was one of the lucky stars to score an invite, and wore a wild cheetah and floral minidress designed by her host, Donatella. Inside, fashionable ladies like Salma Hayek, Anna Wintour, and Abbie Cornish tried on pieces from the line, which will be available in stores as of March. Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo, from The Artist, also joined the celebration.




Diane's been front and center for many of the Couture Fashion Week events in recent days, starting with Donatella's Versace couture show Monday.She then moved on to Giambattista Valli's presentation and Chanel's Haute Couture extravagana. Salma and Diane are traveling in similar fashion circles this month, and were both on hand last night's opening of Prada’s 24 h Museum. The actresses partied late into the night and were entertained with a special DJ session from none other than Kate Moss.

Photos courtesy Luxoticca

>> After getting a preview last month, a first look at the full set of the second Versace for H&M collaboration — for Cruise 2012 — is out. Unlike the first collection, this set — which launches Jan. 19 — will only be available to buy online on www.hm.com in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway — unfortunately not in the US.

>> On the heels of the throwback shimmery, animal-printed Holiday 2011 collection, Versace for H&M is back for another round. Donatella Versace also developed a Pre-Spring 2012 collection for H&M — complete with fruit prints — that will be available exclusively in countries with H&M online sales (currently only Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway) from Jan. 19. As for US citizens — since H&M isn't launching an online shop in the US until Fall 2012 — the best source for nabbing the collection will likely be eBay.

>> In honor of their upcoming Versace For H&M collaboration — in stores and online Nov. 17 — the two brands pulled together three events in one last night at New York's Pier 57. Through a gilded hall of mirrors, designers (Anna Sui, Joseph Altuzarra, Christopher Kane), supermodels (Linda Evangelista, Helena Christensen), and other such notables (Uma Thurman, Chloe Moretz, Nicki Minaj, Prince) were swept into a dark room framing a serpentine catwalk, on which Versace favorites like Abbey Lee Kershaw, Natasha Poly, Lindsey Wixson, and Daphne Groeneveld wore black leather headscarves, heavy kohl, and stomped to speaker-pumping music.

Cue the next: After her runway bow, Donatella Versace gestured guests to follow her into a green-lit, disco ball-hung room covered in oversized palm tree wallpaper. Minaj took the mic — dressed in Versace for H&M, of course — and inspired Alexander Wang to sing along in the audience to every song. Much to Donatella's pleasure — and Natasha Poly's, who sat on the shoulders of a friend so she could videotape the set on her phone — Prince was up next on stage. Versace fist-pumped when Prince gave her a shout-out, clapped above her head . . . and that was before his encore of "Purple Rain."

Finally, the last of the three-prong event: crowds that had been lining up before Prince even took the stage were unleashed into the shopping area. As Style.com notes, "Many of the women in the crowd made beelines for the collection's men's clothes."

A video of the show, below.