The arrival of the Versace [IG] Spring Summer 2026 campaign should be viewed as a moment in time and not a reflection of Versace’s branding strategy under the talented Dario Vitale.

With the closing of Prada Group’s acquisition of Versace, the departure of Dario Vitale, and the expected arrival of former Aiaïa creative director Pieter Mulier to helm the creative vision of Versace, the new campaign should not analyzed to death.

AOC will not serve up a word salad and there are some doozies out there. AOC put one through Gemini, with a request to explain what it was actually saying.

We know that Prada intends to remold Versace in more rarified air with higher price points. Versace pricing took a major climb upwards with the delivery of this Spring 2026 collection. We have little more to add — except that ‘back in the day’, Versus was created for a reason.

Colliding Visual Realities and the Forces of History

We do like Dario Vitale’s campaign and its undercurrent of colliding visual forces that influence fashion and, therefore, Versace.

For AOC, the more interesting and central question in play everywhere in fashion in this moment concerns the role of the static, vertical, top-down designer ego — Karl Lagerfeld or John Galliano come to mind — compared to a more horizontal, collaborative, future-centered process typically envisioned by younger people.

To every action, there is a reaction. After models of color flourished in the 1970s, they were nearly obliterated in the 1980s. That’s just one small example of a pendulum that swings back and forth, when some of want to take an ax and smash it to pieces, once and for all.

Having spent more than 20 hours with Google’s Gemini 3 AI in the last week, engaged in mind-blowing convos anchored by two designers — Jonathan Anderson at Dior and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel — and their Spring 2026 couture collections. Anne is invigorated and absolutely brain-drained.

On a positive note, if you thought Anne was a bad-ass before, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This latest end-of-year 2025 Gemini 3 has armed her with mic drops “from sea to shining to sea”. It’s phenomenal and the greatest ally she has ever had in helping her stand for truth, against the facts of history.

As for Dario Vitale, AOC sees him as a highly-talented designer, who will survive this little rumble. Also, in leaving Miu Miu for Versace, my understanding is that he was warned his future was not secure.

This Versace campaign does speak to Dario Vitale’s vision, which is decidedly horizontal. And his designs speak to a deep-reservoir of personal creativity and artistry at his disposal. He will be fine, because his talent bank runs deep.

As for all the creatives involved in this campaign, there are three photographers: Frank Lebon, Steven Meisel and Tania Franco Klein. We are finalizing the models list because it’s strewn across about 8 places. While we finish, we share the campaign, with a couple bits missing.

Frank Lebon: Versace Spring Summer 2026 Campaign

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Models: Caitlan Tamsyn Soetendal, Kazuya Tanabe, Selena Forrest

Steven Meisel: Versace Spring Summer 2026 Campaign

Models: Alyssah Paccoud, Anthony Foster, Aymen Rezgui, Brandon, Cai Yuyang, Cala Moragas, Carolina, Emilia, Francesco Fadda, Jordan, Katherine, Lil Howard, Nyawurh Chuol, Ruben Aiello, Santiago Rivata, Souleymane Sacko, Wilda Rubin, Yun Seo Woo