It’s one of the fashion house’s most iconic looks and now Donatella Versace is opening up about then-up-and-coming model Elizabeth Hurley and the infamous safety pin dress she wore to the 1994 London premiere of “Four Weddings And A Funeral”.
In a new interview for InStyle‘s 25th-anniversary issue, Versace explains how the fashion brand and Hurley ended up in the spotlight thanks to a few well-placed safety pins.
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“People across the globe started talking about the dress,” Versace says. “That’s when we started to realize the power of the red carpet and celebrities in creating topics of conversation.”
Hurley needed a last-minute dress to wear while accompanying then-boyfriend Hugh Grant to the movie’s premiere. Not yet a household name in the modelling world, Hurley allegedly couldn’t afford to purchase a dress for the event so the designer lent her one as a favour. The rest is history.
“I know you’d expect something more interesting behind one of the most famous red-carpet dresses in history,” Versace explains of the risqué look. “But as for many things, chance played a big role in making it all happen.”
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Even the designer didn’t expect Hurley’s red carpet appearance to make waves the way it did, earning both praise for the figure-flaunting look and outcry over the body-revealing style.
“No one could really fathom such an astonishing reaction or that Liz would steal the spotlight from everyone else,” she adds.
RELATED: Damian Hurley Recreates Mom Elizabeth Hurley’s Iconic Safety Pin Dress
Hurley’s son, 17-year-old model Damian, recently paid tribute to his mom’s iconic dress with a safety pin-accented suit.
