Urban Vine Media

When Romae Gordon took her first steps onto the Versace runway in Milan this September, the moment carried more weight than a simple catwalk appearance. At 5’11” and decades into a career that has long been defined by nurturing others rather than spotlighting herself, Gordon became both symbol and statement. This was not just another model striding in a new collection. This was the culmination of decades of unseen work and the beginning of a powerful new chapter.

It also marked the dawn of Dario Vitale’s tenure as Versace’s first-ever non-family creative director, with his debut Spring/Summer 2026 collection staged inside the historic Pinacoteca Ambrosiana. For Versace, a house synonymous with family legacy, sensual power, and unyielding cultural presence, the pairing of Vitale’s fresh energy and Gordon’s seasoned gravitas formed a story larger than fashion. It was about reinvention, respect for legacy, and the reminder that beauty, strength, and relevance do not bow to age or convention.

For those familiar with the Caribbean fashion landscape, Romae Gordon is hardly an unknown name. In Jamaica, she has long been a creative force — shaping models, guiding photographers, and supporting the nation’s creative infrastructure from behind the scenes. Many describe her as a mentor first and a model second.

But the runway has always lingered in her orbit. A tall, statuesque woman with features that command attention, Gordon had stepped back from her own modeling aspirations to invest in others. For years, she cultivated talent, brokered opportunities, and watched proudly as younger faces she nurtured ascended to international stages.

So when she appeared on Versace’s runway in Milan, it wasn’t simply a casting choice — it was a reclamation.

“It felt like fate,” Gordon said in an interview with The Jamaica Gleaner. “I’ve always believed that if something is meant for you, it will come at the right time, not necessarily on your time.”

Her moment came not at 19 or 25, but in her forties, when most models are told their runway years are behind them. The irony is that Gordon’s walk made a stronger impact precisely because of that — a visible defiance of fashion’s obsession with youth, and a validation of experience as an asset rather than a liability.

The other half of this story belongs to Dario Vitale, the man tasked with steering Versace into a new era. Until recently, the house had always remained under the creative direction of its founding family — first Gianni Versace, then Donatella Versace. Vitale’s appointment marked a seismic shift: the first time the creative helm passed outside the Versace bloodline.

Vitale, an Italian designer with roots in both tailoring and visual storytelling, was not content to simply replicate the glossy bombast of Versace’s 1990s heyday. Instead, his debut sought to evoke the spirit of Gianni without lapsing into homage or nostalgia.

“The goal was not to replicate, but to channel,” Vitale explained backstage. “Gianni was about freedom, about sexuality, about power. For me, it’s about asking — what does that feel like now? How do intimacy and sensuality speak in our time?”

The answer came in the form of suggestive tailoring: jeans cut to ride loose on the hips, jackets worn without shirts, dresses slashed at the sides, sheer fabrics that hinted at the body beneath. Critics described it as “charged with intimacy,” less about shock value and more about the subtleties of allure.

Vitale’s decision to stage his debut at the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana was itself a statement. The Renaissance-era library and museum, housing manuscripts of Leonardo da Vinci, provided a backdrop of scholarship and history an unusual setting for a house known for flash.

Yet the intimacy of the space, its high archways and quiet grandeur, mirrored the collection’s message: a move away from spectacle toward intimacy, memory, and storytelling.

Seated front row were critics, celebrities, and industry insiders, all watching closely to see how Vitale would reinterpret Versace.

When Romae Gordon appeared in look #39; an architectural black piece that emphasized both structure and skin, the room shifted. Her walk was steady, unhurried, commanding. She was not a young ingénue trying to impress; she was a woman inhabiting the garment fully, grounding Vitale’s vision with presence rather than performance.

If the runway was about vision, backstage was about execution. Makeup legend Pat McGrath sculpted faces with her signature mix of glamour and edge, while hair maestro Guido Palau created styles that walked the line between natural and severe.

The casting was overseen by Julia Lange, whose team had reached out to Gordon two years earlier. Scheduling conflicts had prevented their collaboration at the time, but Milan Fashion Week 2025 aligned the stars.

The result was a show that balanced newness with gravitas, innovation with familiarity the perfect stage for Gordon to embody Vitale’s ethos.

The reviews following the show reflected both excitement and tension. The Guardian praised Vitale for “evoking the spirit of Gianni without falling into imitation,” noting the debut’s “charged intimacy” and “refreshing restraint.” AP News described it as “a debut full of suggestive tailoring and personal storytelling.”

Others were more cautious, suggesting that Vitale’s shift toward intimacy risked softening the house’s historically loud glamour. But most agreed on one point: Vitale had managed to spark conversation the ultimate goal of any creative director’s first outing.

And Gordon? Her presence was universally applauded. Industry voices highlighted her walk as one of the show’s defining moments, a rare instance where model and garment combined to create cultural resonance.

For Jamaica, Gordon’s walk carried profound significance. The island has produced world-renowned cultural icons in music, athletics, and art, but its fashion presence has often remained overshadowed. Gordon’s appearance at Versace placed Jamaica directly in the high-fashion conversation.

Local media framed the moment as both personal victory and national pride. “Romae Gordon did not just walk for herself; she walked for Jamaica,” one columnist wrote.

Her journey also highlighted the importance of mentorship and community. Gordon had spent years cultivating talent within Jamaica, and now her own visibility had the power to open doors for the next generation of Caribbean creatives.

Representation in fashion is often reduced to surface categories race, gender, body type. Gordon’s presence introduced a different axis: age and experience.

At a time when the industry often sidelines women beyond their twenties, seeing Gordon in one of the most high-profile shows of the season was nothing short of revolutionary. It challenged the entrenched narrative of who belongs on a runway, proving that the beauty of maturity carries its own power.

For young models, her walk offered a reminder that careers do not need to burn bright and short. For established professionals, it demonstrated that relevance is not lost with time, but can evolve into something even more profound.

If Vitale’s debut was about channeling intimacy, the question now is how he will evolve the brand over future seasons. Will he push further into subtle sensuality, or will he reinvigorate the house’s reputation for spectacle?

What’s certain is that Vitale has already reframed Versace’s casting philosophy. By putting Romae Gordon on his runway, he sent a message that presence matters as much as novelty. In doing so, he positioned Versace not just as a house of glamour, but as one of cultural intelligence.

For Gordon herself, the runway moment may be just the beginning. With global attention now on her, opportunities are likely to follow  not just as a model, but as a speaker, mentor, and cultural ambassador.

Her story embodies resilience, patience, and reinvention  themes that resonate far beyond fashion. In a world obsessed with immediacy, Gordon’s rise reminds us that some victories are worth the wait.

As she told The Jamaica Gleaner: “I’ve lived many lives in this industry. But this moment… this is one I’ll carry forever.”

The Versace Spring/Summer 2026 debut was more than a fashion show. It was a convergence of narratives: a designer redefining a legacy, a model reclaiming her presence, a house negotiating its future, and a nation seeing itself on the global stage.

Romae Gordon’s walk for Dario Vitale’s Versace debut was not just about clothes, but about meaning — the intersection of legacy and reinvention, intimacy and power, personal destiny and cultural impact.

In that brief moment on the runway, Gordon carried with her decades of unseen work, the pride of a nation, and the vision of a brand at a turning point. The world watched, and in her stride, the future of fashion seemed to stretch wider, more inclusive, and infinitely more powerful.