Why Versace’s SS 2026 campaign feels different from other fashion work
Versace’s SS 2026 campaign, Dario Vitale’s final chapter, channels movement and embodied glamour inspired by Richard Avedon’s legacy
Versace’s Spring/Summer 2026 campaign—shot by Tania Franco Klein, Frank Lebon and Steven Meisel—arrives at a pivotal moment for the fashion house. Conceived as Dario Vitale’s final campaign for Versace, it signals a renewed engagement with movement, the body and photographic presence, drawing on the legacy of Richard Avedon. Rooted in the brand’s visual DNA yet firmly contemporary, the project moves beyond conventional fashion advertising to operate as a cultural statement.
Under Dario Vitale’s creative direction, Versace SS 2026 articulates a vision of embodied glamour shaped by community, physical tension and collective presence rather than static display.
Why Fashion Continues to Look to Richard Avedon
For those fluent in fashion imagery, the reference is immediately recognisable. Richard Avedon’s legacy—his kinetic elegance and instinct for turning bodies into charged visual punctuation—runs quietly but persistently through the campaign. This is neither nostalgia nor imitation. Dario Vitale channels Avedon as a question of energy rather than style, translating momentum rather than quoting form. The result is imagery that feels animated and alert, holding tension without leaning on explicit citation.
Richard Avedon reshaped fashion photography by introducing movement and psychological presence into the frame. His models responded, reacted and confronted the camera, steering fashion away from static ideals towards something more immediate and alive. Versace SS 2026 draws on that legacy, repositioning it for a contemporary context.
Here, bodies are never ornamental: they appear in motion, in contact, in negotiation with space. The camera feels embedded rather than observational, operating from within the action. A subtle physical intensity runs through the images, as though each frame captures a moment suspended between aftermath and anticipation.
This reflects an Avedon-informed understanding of fashion as presence rather than pose, refracted through a 2026 sensibility. Vitale’s touch is evident in his restraint: the reference emerges through composition, movement, and attitude, never overplayed.
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How Community Became Central to Versace’s Creative Identity
The campaign builds on Versace Embodied, a project that places community at the heart of the brand’s narrative. Here, sensuality is shared rather than individual or exclusive. Artists, athletes, dancers, writers and actors occupy the same visual space without hierarchy. Drake Carr, Lexee Smith, Selena Forrest and Chu Wong appear alongside a street cast that keeps the imagery dynamic and responsive. Attention circulates rather than concentrates.
This emphasis on embodied community feels especially relevant now. Versace does not retreat into abstraction or fantasy; it engages with lived reality and amplifies it through glamour. Clothing and body exist in dialogue. Garments do not overpower the wearer, but come into focus through movement, proximity and attitude.
The Visual Logic Behind Versace’s SS 2026 Campaign
One of the campaign’s defining strengths lies in its use of three image-makers, each bringing a distinct visual language while remaining aligned with a shared sensibility.
Steven Meisel, a long-standing collaborator, functions almost as an internal voice within the House. His images deliver a high-voltage glamour that is direct and unapologetic, yet never rigid. Power remains central, but fluid, capable of sustaining the viewer’s gaze without tipping into performance.
Frank Lebon exists at the opposite edge of refinement. Through collage, distortion and analogue texture, he introduces an underground intimacy that unsettles polished perfection. His images feel worn-in and tactile, shaped by friction rather than finish. This is Versace after hours, where glamour is allowed to smudge and sweat.
Tania Franco Klein brings an art-driven perspective, informed by her work in institutions such as MoMA and the Getty Centre. Her frames blur the line between performance and reality, creating scenes charged with psychological tension. Desire becomes atmospheric rather than explicit, and the images resist closure. Together, these three approaches create a portrait of Versace that is controlled yet unruly, luxurious yet feral.
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Why the Versace Pivot Bag Matters Now
The Versace SS 2026 campaign centres on the Pivot bag, an accessory that distils the broader vision into a single object. Sculptural and overtly sensual, the bucket silhouette appears in monochrome and bi-colour leather, as well as tactile suede. Distinctive hardware and a newly rendered Medusa unmistakably signal its identity.
Designed to accommodate movement rather than restrict it, the Pivot bag is convertible, versatile and kinetic. It’s not a finishing detail, but an active participant in the look.
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What Versace’s SS 2026 Campaign Signals for the Brand’s Future
Seen in its entirety, the Versace SS 2026 campaign stands as a statement of creative clarity. Dario Vitale demonstrates sharp visual sensibility alongside a grounded understanding of fashion history and its emotional codes.
Referencing Richard Avedon carries a risk; allowing that reference to feel alive rather than archival is the true achievement.
Rather than chasing relevance through excess or noise, the campaign establishes it through clarity, control and intent. By positioning glamour as something embodied and in motion, Versace articulates a vision that feels both strategically grounded and culturally resonant. A clear, confident closing chapter from Dario Vitale at Versace.
Angelo Ruggeri
Journalist and Tutor for Styling, Business and Design Course and Master’s Programmes, Milan