from wwd...excerpt...
Friday, February 25, 2005
Versace
Versace: There’s a two-part tradition around any Donatella Versace show. First is the star-studded front row, filled on Thursday night by Missy Elliott, Elizabeth Hurley, with her fiancé Arun Nayar in tow, and an exotic newcomer to the celeb-guest ranks, Donatella’s colleague, competitor and new best friend, Miuccia Prada. Second is the post-show party, held this time around at the Moroccan restaurant Dar el Yacout. But that was only a warm-up, because Versace was scheduled to leave town today en route to Los Angeles for the biggest dress-up party of all, the Oscars. Packed with care in her luggage: the glamorama of red-carpet gowns that closed her show.
Versace didn’t even pretend that these were designed for the world beyond the Kodak Theatre site of Sunday night’s festivities. Hence the illusion netting on two daringly low-backed numbers — barely there, and yet happily secure for live TV.* And the presence of all that makes for surefire hits among the actress set: curves, glitter and bare skin (or its illusion) with none of that dicey has-she-packed-it-on Josephine shtick that so romanced the last couture.*