We all remember those Versace campaigns of the 1990s. Those editorials where supermodels still did the modeling; where fashion models could model fashion without actually wearing any. It was the height of high fashion, and the King of it all was the decadent Gianni Versace.
Nowadays, we scroll down instagram more than we flip through our favorite fashion bible—if ever! (Admit it, the last time you had a subscription to a print magazine was probably around the last time you used real nail polish and not shellac!) Thankfully, our nostalgia can be satisfied thanks to our old school brands going back to what they know best—the classics. For Versace Fine Jewelry, it’s a diamond encrusted Greek key pattern surrounding their Medusa.
This April, Jeddah’s women of fashion witnessed the marriage of borrowed vintage originals and their reincarnated numbered limited editions at the home of our very own Editor-in-Chief, Marriam Mossalli. An anything-but-humble estate with classic white columns and festooned in highly stylized Baroque mirrors, the environment was playfully ostentatious and the perfect backdrop for the unapologetic gaudy brand. The exclusive invite-only affair acted as a “you can’t sit with us” prelude to the following evening’s boutique opening at Al Khayat Center (aka Jeddah’s Rodeo Drive). Hia magazine editor, Mai Badr, the “Samra Sisters” Katia and Paula Samra (who are the distributors of the brand), and cool girl Ola Al Fares (MBC presenter and VFJ ambassador) joined in the humorous recollections of our influencers’ first memories of jewelry.
Mossalli, who is also the founder and lead consultant at Niche Arabia—Saudi’s premiere luxury marketing company, welcomed Saudi’s stylists and instagram-celebs, wearing her own favorite pieces from the collection. “Versace is a very nostalgic brand for us Saudi girls,” she explained, “there’s definitely an emotional bond to the brand—it reminds us of our mothers in their prime with their Kathleen Turner perms! It takes us back to our pre-snapchat days when we spent our time singing into a hairbrush in front of the mirror…complete with a Versace Medusa pendant, a giant bow in hair and a drawn-on Madonna mole! Haha I f*cking love Versace!”
Indulge in Drama!