Jennifer Lopez won Milan Fashion Week, wowing the crowd at Versace when she emerged wearing a version of the jungle dress that nearly broke the internet almost 20 years ago.
Building up to the big reveal, Donatella Versace announced from backstage a Google search for "Versace jungle dress," and a dome ceiling above the circular runway filled with images of J-Lo wearing the 2000 Versace dress at the Grammys.
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Jennifer Lopez won Milan Fashion Week, wowing the crowd at Versace when she emerged wearing a version of the jungle dress that nearly broke the internet almost 20 years ago.
The original jungle dress made not only fashion history, but Google history. According to Versace's press notes, millions of people searched Google in an effort to see the dress, inspiring tech giant to create Google Images.
Actress Jennifer Lopez wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Actress Jennifer Lopez, left, and designer Donatella Versace accept applause at the conclusion of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Actress Jennifer Lopez, left, and designer Donatella Versace accept applause at the conclusion of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Then Versace intoned: "The REAL jungle dress," and Lopez appeared in an updated version of the iconic gown, which maintained the plunging neckline but in a sleeveless version and with a train that billowed below the open back. Not a smart phone remained dormant as the fashion crowd jostled to catch video of the fashion ah-ha moment.
Actress Jennifer Lopez wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
The original jungle dress made not only fashion history, but Google history. According to Versace's press notes, millions of people searched Google in an effort to see the dress, inspiring tech giant to create Google Images.
"The world had the same reaction: jaw-dropping," Versace said in show notes. "Today we live in a technological world, but back then, one event promoted the creation of a new tool that now has become part of our lives."
Actress Jennifer Lopez, left, and designer Donatella Versace accept applause at the conclusion of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Actress Jennifer Lopez wears a creation as part of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Actress Jennifer Lopez, left, and designer Donatella Versace accept applause at the conclusion of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
Actress Jennifer Lopez, left, and designer Donatella Versace accept applause at the conclusion of the Versace Spring-Summer 2020 collection, unveiled during the fashion week, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Sept. 20, 2019. (AP PhotoLuca Bruno)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — A top European Union military officer said that a frigate that’s part of an EU mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels on Thursday morning.
Austrian Gen. Robert Brieger, who is chair of the EU’s military committee, said that it would be crucial for the bloc to “conserve resources” over the long haul because the threat posed by Houthi attacks “will not disappear” due to its connection to the Israel-Hamas war.
“The task given to the military is simply to protect merchant ships and to show the public that the European Union is not willing to accept a terrorist organization will interrupt the freedom of movement at sea,” Brieger said.
Brieger said that he’s asking EU members to provide the necessary resources to the EU mission dubbed Aspides — Greek for “shields.”
He said that it’s the first time that the EU has launched a naval operation in a hostile environment that's twice the size of the 27-nation bloc, calling it a “litmus test” that the bloc will pass successfully.
The commander of an EU naval mission in the Red Sea, Greek Rear Adm. Vasilios Gryparis, wants to significantly increase its size to better defend against possible attacks by Houthi rebels based in Yemen. Nineteen of the 27 EU nations are involved in the mission, but only four frigates are patrolling an area twice the size of the bloc.
The EU mission was established in February to defend civilian vessels and doesn't take part in any military strikes. The southern part of the Red Sea is deemed a high-risk zone.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which control much of Yemen’s north and west, launched a campaign of drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Red Sea in November. They have also fired missiles toward Israel, although those have largely fallen short or been intercepted.
The attacks have hit maritime trade to Egypt and Europe, with only around half the usual number of ships moving through the area. It’s added up to two weeks of transit time for vessels that want to avoid the Suez Canal, hiking transport costs and shipping insurance.
The rebels have described their campaign as an effort to pressure Israel to end the wear. The ships targeted by the Houthis, however, largely have had little or no connection to Israel, the U.S. or other nations involved in the war.
Their campaign has continued despite more than two months of U.S.-led retaliatory airstrikes.
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
General Robert Brieger, chairman of the EU's Military Committee talks to the media during a press conference after a meeting with the Cyprus national guard chief Georgios Tsitsikostas at the Defense Ministry in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The European Union's top military official says a frigate that's part of an EU military mission in the Red Sea to protect merchant shipping has destroyed a drone launched from an area in Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels. Brieger said the downing of the drone took place Thursday morning. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
