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Jennifer Lopez just about broke the internet both times she wore that iconic green Versace dress. The first time, the photo of her wearing the dress at the 2000 Grammys inspired the creation of Google Images. The second time, when she wore it to close out Versace’s fashion show this fall, the moment went viral. Vanity Fair asked Lopez about what it was like wearing the dress each time.
“That’s a good question, baby,” she told the outlet, as only J.Lo would. “The first time I wore it, I actually didn’t have another dress. Usually I have choices. It was a last-minute thing that caused a sensation that was unexpected. The second time was very planned-out. It started at the Met ball; Donatella said, ‘You know, this year is the 20th anniversary of the jungle dress,’ and I said no, I didn’t. And she goes, ‘I think I’m going to do a whole show about it. Would you come?’ And I said, ‘Of course. Just call me.’ You know, it’s all timing—schedules and stuff. And then she wound up calling and said, ‘I want you to walk at the end, and I want you to come out in the dress.’ ‘The same dress?’ ‘The same dress. We’ll make a new one for you.’ The second time I wore it and walked out there, it was such an empowering thing. Twenty years had gone by, and I think for women, knowing you can put on a dress 20 years later—it resonated. It was like, ‘Yes, you know, life is not over at 20!'”
She also touched on how her relationship with Donatella Versace started. “I met her when [her brother] Gianni died. So we’ve had a long journey, and to see her slowly realized from that moment to this moment. There was so much in the moment that you can’t even begin to kind of emotionally understand—for her, from me, for her life, for my life. And I think people felt that.”