Over 10 minutes of previously unreleased music by the late Prince Rogers Nelson debuted during Versace‘s Men’s Spring 2017 runway show at Milan Fashion Week, with footage of the event (and its amazing soundtrack) now available online.
The 11 minutes of instrumental music heard in the show (below) are straight from Prince’s huge vault of unreleased material and it’s undeniably Prince, given its wailing guitar solos and super-smooth vibes.
The fashion show’s soundtrack comes courtesy of Prince himself, who frequently sent Donatella Versace music for her fashion shows prior to his death in April this year.
Speaking with Billboard, Ms. Versace says she wanted to honour Prince, one of her “closest friends”, by playing his music as the soundtrack to Versace’s latest collection.
“My heart was broken by the news of Prince’s passing — I am still in shock,” Versace says. “I wanted to express my love and admiration for my friend who I miss so much. Celebrating him and his music at my menswear show seemed like the best way. Prince was always writing and recording, even if it was just a late-night jam at Paisley Park. He had been sending me songs for years — it was his way of communicating. Just hearing his voice again makes me smile. It was a privilege and an honour to have Prince as my friend, and so it was my privilege to be able to share them with the audience. I wanted people to hear how playful he was, how joyous, how creative, how pure a genius. The biggest tribute you can pay to him is to play his music, and to keep his memory alive.”
Speaking about Prince’s fashion sense, Versace says, “I love men who can dress beyond rules and codes. Prince set his own rules and did what he wanted — he wore high heels, showed his body, chose strong colour, did whatever pleased him. He loved to play with fashion, to provoke and shock. I was in awe of him, always. Prince showed men how they could use clothing to express themselves, to make a statement, to be bold. He showed men to not take themselves so seriously, have fun and to love life while you can.”
Watch footage of Versace’s runway show containing previously unreleased Prince music below, alongside a gallery of photos from the event.
Gallery: Versace Men’s Spring 2017 Runway
Images: IMAXtree
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