Dua Lipa’s debut Versace collection is made by party girls for party girls, with summer nights in mind.

May has been the month for mega-pop stars effortlessly foraying into the world of fashion. Co-designed by creative director Francesco Risso, Erykah Badu brought her unique style to Italian label Marni for a limited-edition capsule. A week later, Blackpink’s Jennie Kim announced a global partnership with iconic American brand Calvin Klein, influenced by the singer’s own casual wardrobe essentials. And just yesterday, Dua Lipa and Donatella Versace showcased their La Vacanza resort collection in Cannes, capitalising on the film festival’s week of showbiz. 

 

Indeed, two words seemingly unavoidable from the Versace universe are celebrity and spectacle, and few venues live up to that ethos better than France’s famous resort town. Dua Lipa’s inescapable star qualities add some glamour of their own: a pillar in modern pop culture, the “One Kiss” singer is finding herself in the fashion house’s luxurious hedonism while adding a much-needed Gen-Z sparkle to its archives.  

On Friday, Dua will finally release the soundtrack to Barbie, so it’s of no surprise that everyone’s favourite fashion doll is a key influence on this collection. Revamping Versace’s ‘90s style codes around Barbiecore motifs, like embellished bikinis and silk head scarves, the collection embraces breezy summer evenings and sun-soaked pool parties. Tempting the pleasure-seeker in all of us, Dua gives business prowess in the waistcoat dresses, cosmic space-seeking in the metallic cowgirl boots and Cuban adventures in the wide-collard polka dot shirts and skirts.  

 

This could be the first of many collaborations between Dua and the fashion house, who’ve struck a creative relationship over many projects. In 2019, the popstar wore Atelier Versace at her first Met Gala, and two years later, she opened the brand’s SS22 runway show at Milan Fashion Week. A bona fide Donatella muse, the singer’s well-accustomed on its front rows, and it only seems right that she continues to channel her creative energy beyond music and into the fashion world too.

 

An intimate affair, the show hosted the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Peggy Gou and Rina Sawayama: a range of Gen-Z-loved influencers, musicians and celebrities who’ve become close friends of the brand.