Atelier Versace and a Word about Angelina

Paris Haute Couture Launch with Kevin Costner, Olivier Munn, Melissa George and Princess Charlene at Atelier Versace

Ever since Angelina Jolie bared her leg at last year’s Academy Awards, super-high side-slits have skyrocketed in popularity, thanks to her gown by Atelier Versace, the designer to kick off the spring/summer 2013 haute couture shows in Paris. And the designer did so in luxurious style Jan. 20.

Since Jolie’s Oscar appearance, Lea Michele, Heidi Klum, Eva Longoria, Elie Saab, Heidi Klum, Halle Berry and Rosie Huntington Whiteley rocked the red carpet in side-slit gowns at the Golden Globes, while Nicole Kidman, Claire Danes, Morena Baccarin, Emily Blunt, Mayim Bialik and Lea Michele continued the craze at the SAG Awards.

So when I went backstage following the Atelier Versace show, I couldn’t help asking Donatella Versace about her trend-setting creation for Jolie.

Deferring to her client, the Italian designer said, “That is Angelina – she likes the high slits,” adding, “Angelina is fabulous.”

Fabulous, too, were the fashions in Versace’s spring/summer collection. And lest anyone doubt the luxury factor inherent in the designs, some dresses featured pinstripes of 24-karat gold.

Click here to read my take on the show for the “All the Rage” section of the Los Angeles Times, and about the celebrities in attendance, who included Kevin Costner, there with his wife Christine and mother-in-law Judy Hardy; Olivia Munn of “The Newsroom,” Melissa George of “Hunted,” rapper Ne-Yo and Princess Charlene of Monaco.

Check out the photo gallery below for a look at the fashions, celebrities, clients and others.

IMG_2482-004 Olivia Munn, Princess Charlene of Monaco, Atelier Versace

Top photo: Donatella Versace talking with the pres backstage following the spring/ summer 2013 presentation of Atelier Versace and a word about Angelina Jolie’s Oscar gown with me afterwards (photo: SocietyNewsLA.com)

Center photo: Olivia Munn of “The Newsroom,” left, and Princess Charlene of Monaco at Atelier Versace (photo: SocietyNewsLA.com)

Bottom photo: Atelier Versace’s fabulous spring/summer 2013 fashions (photo: SocietyNewsLA.com)

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