Is Medusa the New “Cassandra”?
The myth and meaning of Versace’s most iconic motif: A fearsome, wretched, and wronged woman
“She’s strange, but you can’t take your eyes off her,” said Donatella Versace.
She was, of course, talking about Medusa - the Greek myth that inspired and iconified the Versace brand.
Gianni Versace, the founder of his eponymous brand, would go on to become one of the most renowned and transformative figures in fashion. Being the son of a dressmaker gave him the early tools and skills to translate his wild, creative imagination into his later designs which were sparked by the pride and inspiration of his childhood surroundings.
The Versaces grew up in Reggio di Calabria, a region situated at the “toe” of Southern Italy. Donatella Versace, Gianni’s sister and the current chief creative officer of Versace, would describe being able to see Sicily, the Mediterranean island just off Italy’s mainland coast, from her childhood home. The influence of early Greek colonization in the 8th century left its indelible mark in the history, architecture, and culture of the area. Calabria was once called Magna Graecia, or “Great Greece”, after all. Ancient Hellenic ruins dotted the Versace’s neighbourhood - as commonplace as playgrounds. Which, in fact, they were, for Gianni and his siblings older brother Santo and younger sister Donatella (an older sister, Tina, succumbed at a young age to a tetanus infection). The crumbling limestone relics - remnants of walls from once grand homes disintegrated into knee-high mazes or else great sunken seated theatres - made for easy climbing, mischief, and wonder.
Amidst one of the ruins, Gianni spotted an arresting visage. A face that, according to Greek legend, had enraptured and subsequently frozen men for centuries. Much like Medusa’s legendary petrifying effects, Gianni’s memory hardened on her image. He would take this immovable memory with him and continue to be influenced by the historical landscape of his hometown for the remainder of his life. In high school, at the Liceo Classico Tommaso Campanella, Gianni even studied Latin and ancient Greek. “When you are born in a place such as Calabria and there is beauty all around … a Roman bath, a Greek remain, you cannot help but be influenced by the classical past,” he once said1.
Gianni had a voracious appetite for art and culture, bleeding everything new he learned or felt inspired by - whether that be Byzantine mosaics or Andy Warhol prints - into his designs. New York Times style editor Amy M. Spindler once remarked, “It wasn't uncommon to see 50 books stacked on a single table at one of his houses. He employed a full-time librarian, who organized the five libraries he kept.” Elton John described him as someone he considered an artistic contemporary. “We were continually trying to improve our creativity. You never left him without being stimulated about some aspect of fashion or art or life,” he said. His brother Santo said, “Gianni was a child, a revolutionary, and a poet. He relished the joy of living life and the prospect of the future.”
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When Gianni set out to establish his own label in the late 70s, he needed to design an iconic “face” for his brand. One that would distill the quintessential Versace customer and their values (sensuality, boldness, femininity, luxury, and defiance) in a single look. That’s a lot of emotions to pin on a single stare. But, of course, Gianni had only one face in mind.
Sifted from the memories of his youth, Gianni placed the head of Medusa at the center of a Labyrinthine key maze, another recognizable Grecian motif of famed myth. The result was immediately eye-catching. While Versace’s peers at the time favoured an austere minimalism in their designs, Gianni gilded a path of his own. One that unabashedly spotlighted opulence, luxury, and maximalism. In Versace’s world, more was more.
There are contrasting interpretations of Medusa, the lone mortal of the triad of Gorgons in classical Greek mythology. A human woman who crossed paths and burned bridges with a vengeful god who transformed her into a monster, one replete with a head of snakes and a cursed stare that would turn onlookers to stone. Some versions cast Medusa’s plight as that of a beautiful, boastful maiden simply being humbled by Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. Other versions that involve Poseidon, God of the Sea, vary in characterizing his and Medusa’s physical encounters as a mutual love affair or a sexual assault within Athena’s hallowed temple. But whether willing participant or hapless victim, the end result remains the same: Medusa was ultimately cast and remembered as the only monster in her story.
According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, figures in Grecian art are rarely captured head on. A profile is the far more common depiction of Greek characters. But Medusa is the exception. The museum notes, “In almost all representations of Medusa, despite style and medium, she stares ahead and confronts the viewer.” Whether her forwardness is in spite of, or because of, her monstrous disfigurement is up for interpretation. But her withering stare is uncompromising all the same.
“When people look at Versace, they will have to feel terrified, petrified, just like when you look into the eyes of the Medusa,” Gianni used to say2. Donatella would later corroborate this, explaining, “[Gianni] believed that anyone who fell in love with Medusa would be unable to escape her.” In choosing Medusa as the face of Versace, Gianni seemed intent on capturing a customer base ensnared by his designs.
Michael Ventura, CEO of the strategy and design consultancy Sub Rosa, remarked to Ad Week, “I have always found Versace’s work to be ‘sexy ugly’—using garish patterns and loud, borderline obnoxious color combinations to make something of beauty. In a way, he played right into the myth [of Medusa], creating something that some might consider ‘ugly’ but causing many to be captivated with it.” Anna Wintour, famed editor-in-chief of Vogue described Gianni’s savant-like business sense in 1997, “He relished media attention and masterminded it, and everybody followed in his footsteps.”
Indeed, Gianni’s Medusa logo has become synonymous and iconic to the Versace fashion house. Today, we see Versace’s Medusa motif cast across nearly all of its wares. The unapologetic nature of her stare is emblematic of Gianni’s opulent approach to design.
We see Medusa across all of Versace’s offerings. At the center of necklaces, as the locking mechanism on bags, the filigree clasp tenuously holding together the straps of a sensual bustier, emblazoned at the center of t-shirts or homewares like plates or dishes, framed by Versace’s famous gold baroque print or its Greek Key border on scarves, or etched into the glass of Versace’s perfume bottles.
Courtney DeLong wrote for L’Officiel, “The Medusa logo has endured throughout the house's history as an emblematic symbol of the brand and Gianni's original creative vision for himself as well as the fashion world at large.”
In Taylor’s world, snakes took on a whole new meaning in 2016. It was part of a “Famous” celebrity feud that would permanently paint Taylor with Medusa’s brush.
In a summarizing triptych: A mic grab, a strategic splicing of Snapchat footage, and a single tweet by a reality star started and ended it all. When the dust settled, one party was branded as manipulative, slithering, and untrustworthy. Or perhaps, as Taylor would one day characterize it, as “fearsome … wretched … and wrong.”
Like Medusa, the truth of the story didn’t matter. The damage was done and a monster was made. The story of both Medusa and Taylor is mythic because of its intense sorrows and rising victories. In a sense, the two of them had to become unapologetic because of the circumstances thrust upon them. As demonstrated when Taylor reframed and reclaimed the “snake” moniker with the release of her sixth studio album reputation. Its promotional rollout was kicked off by a trio of hissing, spitting, video clips of a coiled snake.
Years later for a feature on her 30th birthday to Elle, Taylor would describe how she came to adopt the snake as a life lesson: “Grow a backbone, trust your gut, and know when to strike back. Be like a snake—only bite if someone steps on you.”
“Be like a snake—only bite if someone steps on you.”
Of course now in the present day Easter Egg fan climate, any reference of snakes - such as those so associated with Medusa - represents a potential clue at the release of reputation (Taylor’s Version). Beginning in 2021, Taylor has systematically been re-recording and re-releasing versions of her first six albums following the unauthorized sale of the front half of her discography in 2019. The project has, so far, successfully seen the release of the (Taylor’s Versions) of Fearless, RED, Speak Now, and 1989. Just reputation and her eponymous debut album remain. The heightened degree of Taylor’s celebrity (which has reached supernova levels of interest) combined with the shortened attention spans and ferocity of fandom have culminated in an environment where anything could be a clue.
Much like the pattern of plaid, another common fan theory, Taylor’s frequent wearing of “Medusa” items by Versace have many wondering if (Taylor’s Version) of Medusa’s story will emerge from the reputation vault once it’s unleashed. Also like plaid, I’ll explore the merits of this theory with some typical TSS guardrails in place.
So … *is* Taylor hinting at a forthcoming song called “Medusa”?
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📝 Fashion History: A prolifically plaid fan theory.
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