Gigi Hadid has recreated Elizabeth Hurley’s iconic black Versace safety-pin dress for the cover of 72 magazine, paying tribute to one of the defining red-carpet looks of the 1990s.
Photographed by Craig McDean for a fashion spread titled Made in the 90s, Hadid wears the daring gown with towering heels, tousled hair and heavily lined eyes. She was not yet born when Hurley first wore the design in 1994.
The dress became famous after Hurley arrived at the London premiere of Four Weddings And A Funeral alongside her then-boyfriend Hugh Grant. At the time, the actress and model was relatively unknown, but the revealing Versace creation quickly turned her into an international star.
Hurley, now 61, welcomed the tribute by sharing a side-by-side image of herself in the original dress and Hadid in the magazine shoot. “Viva Versace! Gigi, you look divine,” she wrote.
Hadid replied to Hurley in the comments: “Queeeeen.” Donatella Versace also responded with a series of purple hearts, while 72 magazine editor Edward Enninful praised the original moment.
The black dress, held together by large gold safety pins, was reportedly lent to Hurley at short notice. Donatella Versace later said the fashion house received a call about the outfit the night before the premiere and that nobody expected the reaction it would generate.
Recalling the night in a 2024 Vogue documentary, Hurley said she had never heard of Versace before borrowing the £3,000 dress. She travelled on the Tube to collect it, where it was handed to her in “a little white plastic bag”.
She said she tested the dress by touching her toes, stretching and moving around before leaving for the premiere, adding that “nothing moved”. The following day, images of her appearance were published around the world.
Hadid’s shoot also nods to other signature elements of 1990s fashion. In photographs by McDean, she wears jeans with Calvin Klein underwear visible above the waistband, while another black-and-white image shows her in an open men’s shirt.
The issue also features Cindy Crawford, who appears on another cover photographed by Peter Lindbergh. Crawford was part of the celebrated 1990 British Vogue cover shot by Lindbergh alongside Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz.
Versace has also played an important role in Hadid’s own career. She has said that meeting Donatella Versace helped her develop confidence after being told early in her modelling career that her body was not suited to the runway.
Donatella later chose Hadid for Versace’s spring/summer 2016 show and campaign, an opportunity Hadid described as a turning point. More than three decades after Hurley’s original appearance, the new cover brings the fashion house’s most recognisable red-carpet look to a new generation.
