Versace’s History of Red Carpet Dresses for Hollywood’s Hottest Stars

Leadership changes in the fashion industry are far from new, but this week’s developments promise to impact Hollywood red carpets in a substantive way — perhaps even starting with the May 5 Met Gala. You have to wonder whether stars placed panicked calls to stylists on Thursday, when Donatella Versace announced she was stepping back from design duties to become the house’s brand ambassador, with former Miu Miu designer Dario Vitale taking over as creative director. (Fold in the fact that, minutes following Donatella’s announcement, the news broke that Demna is departing Balenciaga to become Gucci’s creative director, and it’s enough to make any star’s stylist break into a cold sweat.)

“Championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me,” Donatella said in a statement released Thursday. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to carry on my brother Gianni’s legacy. He was the true genius, but I hope I have some of his spirit and tenacity. In my new role as chief brand ambassador, I will remain Versace’s most passionate supporter. Versace is in my DNA and always in my heart.”

Ultimately Versace has been a label tailor-made for Hollywood since Gianni Versace founded his house and opened an eponymous boutique in Milan in 1978. Favoring vibrant colors, bold prints and unabashed detailing from the start, Gianni seemed ahead of his time, as far as Hollywood was concerned. “I like to tell stories with my clothes,” he once said. “Some are sadomasochistic, some are refined, some are violent, some are sophisticated. Above all, my fashion has a message of freedom. I’d love to see my clothes worn by rich, by poor, by everyone. But mainly by people without taboos, because this is what poisons our life. Taboos and narrow-mindedness.”

But Hollywood caught up with the Versace aesthetic, thanks to one dress, in 1994. That was the year Elizabeth Hurley, then a largely unknown model, arrived for the London premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral on the arm of then-boyfriend Hugh Grant, wearing a black silk evening gown fastened at the sides with oversized gold safety pins. “Poor Elizabeth rang some top designers and they all said, ‘No, who are you?’ or ‘No, we’re not lending you anything,’” the actor recalled in Hugh Grant: A Life on Screen, a 2024 BBC documentary. “Then Versace said, ‘Yes, we’ll lend you a dress,’ and they just sent one round which is that one with the safety pins. So she shoved it on and I raised my eyebrows a fraction and we set off.”

“We were living in this tiny little apartment with no full-length mirror, no steamer, I didn’t have anything,” Hurley recalled in a 2024 podcast interview, adding that the only feedback about how she looked was Grant’s one-word reaction: “Christ!” “And off we went,” Hurley added.

The dress — from Versace’s spring 1994 collection — and Hurley appeared in newspapers across the globe the following day, causing an explosion of attention for both the woman wearing it and the man who designed it. Indeed, though Versace also had designed a daring red dress for Cindy Crawford to wear when she accompanied Richard Gere to the Oscars in 1991, that moment did not equal the attention Hurley and Versace received in 1994, or the resulting benefits: In 1995, Hurley signed a contract with Estée Lauder, while Versace became firmly established as the house Hollywood was clamoring to wear. At the time, Princess Diana was another faithful friend and client, wearing Versace looks as part of her “revenge dressing” strategy following her 1992 separation from Prince Charles. The label’s reliable contingent of Hollywood fans, meanwhile, kept it fresh and vibrant and high-status and today includes everyone from Lady Gaga, Elton John and Madonna to Penelope Cruz, Dua Lipa and Blake Lively — and that’s just for starters. From the mid-1990s on, everyone wanted to wear Versace.

At the height of his fame, Gianni Versace was murdered on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion on July 15, 1997. His killer, Andrew Cunanan, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound eight days later on a Miami houseboat. Following the tragedy, which rocked the worlds of both fashion and celebrity, Donatella Versace, who had worked alongside her brother throughout his career, announced she would take over as creative director. Skeptics weren’t shy with opinions, doubting whether she possessed the gravitas needed for such a role. But no one knew Gianni Versace better, and it was clear Donatella also instinctually felt how the Versace aesthetic was partly rooted in its ability to attract attention.

That confidence was confirmed in a high-wattage moment that arrived three years later, at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Presenting the night’s first award for best R&B album, Jennifer Lopez and David Duchovny stepped onstage, but sustained cheers from the audience caused the X-Files actor to briefly step aside so Lopez, wearing a green palm print dress with deep plunging neckline from Donatella’s spring 2000 collection, could savor the attention. “Jennifer, this is the first time in five or six years that I am sure that nobody is looking at me,” Duchovny remarked. If possible, the viral moment exceeded the coverage Hurley received six years before. Just how powerful, you ask? Online demand to see Lopez in the dress was so rampant, it inspired Google to create its image search function, a fact confirmed by Google’s own blog.

Fast forward 25 years, and it’s roundly agreed Donatella has done a stellar job honoring her brother’s legacy while moving the brand forward. “Versace is what it is today because of Donatella Versace and the passion she has brought to her role every day for nearly 30 years,” Versace CEO Emmanuel Gintzburger noted in Thursday’s statement. Hollywood, meanwhile, has been eager and happy to join Donatella for that adventure. Here’s a look at other significant moments for the brand among Hollywood’s hottest stars:

2005: Beyoncé at the Academy Awards

Almost two years before the release of Dreamgirls, Beyoncé made a splash at the 2005 Oscars, first in this vintage black velvet Atelier Versace gown with curved strapless neckline with Lorraine Schwartz earrings. Fold in her official appearance with then-boyfriend Jay-Z and the three best song numbers she performed during the broadcast, and it’s little wonder the event was nicknamed “the Beyoncé Oscars.”

2008: Gisele Bundchen at the Met Gala

Imagine the frenzy when supermodel Gisele Bundchen and then-NFL superstar Tom Brady attended their first Met Gala together in 2008. Bundchen’s pale pink silk Atelier Versace gown was designed to honor the theme of the Costume Institute exhibition, “Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.”

2012: Angelina Jolie at the Academy Awards

It was the leg literally seen around the world: When Angelina Jolie arrived at the 2012 Academy Awards, her black velvet gown by Versace was widely praised for its elegance — and then Jolie struck a pose. In these early days of social media, the actress’ leg became one of the night’s most popular talking points. Later, Donatella agreed that the pose made the dress: “Sometimes you don’t know which dress is the best, but when you see someone wearing the dress, it can become fantastic.”

2016: Taylor Swift at the Grammys

From country singer to an international superstar who sells out stadium shows in minutes, Taylor Swift’s transformation also has included more than a few fashion moments, including this two-piece Atelier Versace look at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The bold colors and bare midriff marked a new era, as it were, in Swift’s styling.

2021: Zendaya at the BET Awards

Zendaya and star stylist Law Roach have created many legendary style moments during their partnership, and among the best is this look at the 2021 BET Awards, where the actress-singer wore a dress that paid tribute to a Versace design Beyoncé wore in her 2003 “Crazy in Love” video. Also by Versace and almost identical in styling — both designs were from Versace’s spring 2003 collection — the dress was already residing in Roach’s considerable archive.

2025: Colman Domingo at the BAFTAs

Versace’s designs are not just for women. Channing Tatum and Cillian Murphy have appeared in the house’s campaigns — “I love being surrounded by gorgeous guys,” Donatella said in 2014 — while Luke Evans and Matt Bomer have been among the stars on the front row of her recent fashion shows. At the 2025 BAFTAs, Colman Domingo further confirmed his status as a style star when he wore a black Versace suit, with both the shirt and the coat’s lining in the label’s signature bold, baroque-style prints.