When the Milan catwalk shows begin in early October, during which designers will unveil their spring/summer 1998 collections, the eyes of the international fashion press will be squarely focused on a single runway - that of Gianni Versace.
The flamboyant designer was murdered in Miami last month, leaving a US$500 million-a-year (about HK$3.87 billion) company and only the beginnings of his vision for the season ahead.
On these pages are components of the last collection the late Versace was able to complete and stage in his signature star-studded, theatrical way, his autumn/winter 1997 collection.
Though, over the past few years, the designer had contrived to steer his label away from the migraine-inducing prints and colours that had come to define it, the pageantry of Versace's work never paled.
The designer was often quoted as saying he designed for people 'with big egos'. Be that as it may, his detractors also believed his glitzy metal mesh dresses, super-short skirts and garish colours might have looked on the wrong side of cheap - though price tags are anything but.
Flashes of his autumn/winter 1997 collection do reveal something of his softer, saner side - even if at the core of the line is his grandiose use of colour - jewel shades, neon brights and art deco-inspired black-and-whites.