Beloved powerhouse designer with the jet set Donatella Versace chose a sprawling villa overlooking the French Riviera to showcase her ‘La Vacanza’ summer getaways and pre-fall 2023 collection. Château de la Croix des Gardes famously hosted the masquerade ball in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 thriller To Catch a Thief.

The debut was intense, given the influence of pop star Dua Lipa, who co-designed the collection laden with so many butterflies that the see-now-buy-now collaboration could have taken flight at a moment’s notice.

Butterflies Galore

All those polka dots are symbols of one of humans most beloved motifs. Butterflies have been a symbol of transformation, hope and faith for thousands of years. Add the models walking along an infinity pool and all say it was one of the most breathtaking fashion shows in many years.

Dua Lipa addressed the butterflies, specifically, saying they are a great symbol of freedom for her.

Versace ‘La Vacanza’ Show, co-designed with Dua Lipa over looking Cannes. Image by Carlijn Jacobs.

In a nod to Versace’s original supers, models executed a ‘90s catwalk method, making complete 360-degree turns on the runway. The result was electric emotional dazzle with models showing more personality than is typical today. The model lineup included Anna Ewers, Anok Yai, Felice Noordhoff, Irina Shayk, Iris Law, Jill Kortleve, Lila Moss, Malika Louback, Mona Tougaard, Natasha Poly, Precious Lee, Sora Choi, Stella Maxwell, Vittoria Ceretti and more.

Frequent Versace photographer Carlijn Jacobs [IG] was on hand to capture the endless magic of a perfect May evening in Cannes, France, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Jacobs also shot the advertising photography with Dua Lipa featured here, with styling by Jacob K.

Dua and Donatella were thrilled to collaborate on the show together, with Donatella extolling Dua's strength and fearlessness, while Dua described working with Versace as her dream come true. Together they hoped that through the performance they could capture summer's spirit - calling this experience a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity".

Donatella Versace truly seems to thrive on these collaborations with music industry stars and young models.

Dua and Donatella both played key roles in the design process, from checking models' looks on runthroughs to organizing their fashion show and styling their outfits. Their efforts resulted in sophisticated party girl looks perfect for an Instagram generation and dopamine dressing.