Gianni Versace is a legendary Italian fashion designer. Everything was too much for him

The talented young man began his Milan career by working for the famous Italian fashion houses Genny, Callaghan and Complice. He was already 25 years old and was full of ambitious plans for the future. In 1994, these early works of the famous fashion designer will be included in a retrospective exhibition at the Berlin Museum of Art and Crafts, dedicated to the 47-year-old trendsetter. No one imagined then that Gianni Versace had only three years to live...

Gianni Versace was born on December 2, 1946 in Reggio di Calabria, Italy. His mother Francesca was a professional dressmaker and always took little Gianni with her to work. Apparently, these first childhood impressions of the costume department and countless dresses later determined the path of the great master of fashion. Gianni himself, recalling his first years, said: “I think that I owe my skill and professionalism to my mother.”

The talented young man began his Milan career by working for the famous Italian fashion houses Genny, Callaghan and Complice. He was already 25 years old and was full of ambitious plans for the future. In 1994, these early works of the famous fashion designer will be included in a retrospective exhibition at the Berlin Museum of Art and Crafts, dedicated to the 47-year-old trendsetter. No one imagined then that Gianni Versace had only three years to live...

But let's go back to the 70s. Inspired by his first collections, Gianni created his own fashion house Gianni Versace in 1978, inviting his closest relatives - brother Sancho and sister Donatella - to the posts of presidents. A year later, he presented his first collection under his own label in Milan, earning enthusiastic applause from the sophisticated Italian public, who immediately fell in love with Versace’s style.

No matter how paradoxical it may sound, but chanting eternal femininity and angelic beauty Beautiful Woman, Gianni never possessed her. He never hid the fact that he was homosexual and lived with a man. Perhaps all the exquisite outfits he created were dedicated to his mother, whose image remained sublime and sublime in his memory. pure ideal, as unattainable as it is beautiful. Many women admitted that wearing couturier dresses they felt like Queens. Who knows how many more magnificent and fabulous dresses I would create for my imaginary angel of purity genius artist, if not for an unfortunate coincidence...

On that fateful morning of July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was at his villa in Miami Beach and went out to buy the latest magazines. Only here did he allow himself this unaffordable luxury - to walk the streets alone, without security. He was already returning back when a shot suddenly rang out, untimely ending the life of the 50-year-old fashion designer. FBI agents easily identified the killer and his location. But they were late. Andrew Cunanan shot himself with the same gun he used to kill Gianni. Ironically, Andrew was wearing Versace underwear...

Theme of the mysterious death of the famous fashion designer Gianni Versace has haunted many researchers for 20 years. On July 15, 1997, the fashion designer was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami mansion. The killer was found very quickly, but before his arrest he committed suicide. According to the official version, the motive for the crime was homosexual acts, but this explanation does not sound convincing. Very little is still known about the real reasons for the murder.

The murder case of Gianni Versace was solved surprisingly quickly - in just two weeks. The killer was serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who already had four victims. He made his living through prostitution, and, according to one version, all those killed were his lovers. He was wanted, but the police were unable to detain him. Suspicion fell on him when a van containing clothes with traces of the blood of the serial killer's last victim was found near the Versace mansion. All the evidence pointed too clearly to a single suspect. In his suicide note, he allegedly admitted that he killed the fashion designer as a “banner of homosexuality.” But the killer himself was a representative gay, and therefore this explanation sounds illogical. The real motive for the crime remained unclear.

Private detective Frank Mont is confident that the southern Italian criminal group N'drangetta was involved in the murder of Versace. According to him, the designer was killed because he dared to challenge the mafia. The murder was organized so that suspicion would fall on a serial killer, whose suicide was later staged. The detective claims that several months before his death, Versace contacted his agency with a request to conduct an investigation. He suspected that the mafia had infiltrated his business for the purpose of money laundering. The fashion designer allegedly planned to hold a press conference at the end of summer and announce the names of the criminals.

The designer was from Calabria, and even during Versace’s lifetime there were rumors about his connections with the Calabrian mafia. His rise was too rapid and sudden, which led fashion historians to speculate about the help of sponsors from the underworld. Where the young designer got his start-up capital from and how he was able to open his own fashion house is truly a mystery. Perhaps it was the money of a southern Italian criminal group, with which the couturier later did not want to share his income. A year before Versace's death, a scandal erupted in which many designers were involved, whose fashion houses were fronts for laundering mafia money. Gianni was also accused, but he himself categorically denied his connections with the criminal world.

The Calabrian mafia often traded in counterfeiting famous brands, and when Versace gained worldwide popularity, factories producing counterfeit goods appeared in Italy. Versace declared war on underground factories: due to cheap counterfeits that flooded the market, his brand was losing prestige. In addition, he lost hundreds of millions of dollars: in 1995-1996. the turnover of counterfeit products was two-thirds higher than the income of the Versace Fashion House. The designer collaborated with the Yellow Flame, the anti-corruption police, and personally participated in investigations exposing the activities of underground factories. Versace brand emblem for a long time there was a Gorgon Medusa, but since it was the one most often counterfeited, the couturier publicly abandoned this emblem.

Of course, the Calabrian mafia could not help but react to such violent resistance and opposition. Versace repeatedly received peculiar black marks: once in his garden he found a dead bird, then a dead dog. But the designer was not stopped by these warnings. He was a fatalist and believed that fate could not be avoided. Versace did not use security services and often went out unaccompanied. Therefore, it was not difficult for the killer to carry out his plan.

However, if it really was the work of the mafia, why did they entrust the murder not to a hitman, but to a mentally unstable serial killer? Obviously, this mystery is still far from its final solution. And Gianni Versace forever went down in history as one of

Gianni Versace is an Italian fashion designer who gave women all over the world the opportunity to reveal themselves in outfits from the designer fashion house. He always said that the same dress would look different on Madonna and Princess Diana. If the singer makes it sexy, then Lady Di will look like a classic. The couturier's creativity was manifested not only in the creation of bold clothing models, but also in collections of dishes, furniture, smartphones, watches and perfumes.
After the death of the great designer, all of his assets in the Versace label in the amount of 50% were transferred by will to his niece.

The son of the Versace couple, Gianni, was born on December 2, 1946 in the ancient and picturesque town of Reggio di Calabria. This is a port city in southern Italy, where the cultures of Greece, Byzantium, Spain, Albania, and France are mixed. The mother of the future couturier Francesca Olandeze Versace was a professional tailor and ran the Francesca Versace Elle atelier. The boy's father Antonio Versace was noble blood, but his parents became poor, although they were able to give their son a good education. Antonio knew and loved music, was interested in art, and read a lot.

Post-war Italy did not pamper its citizens with work and prosperity. The mother had to work hard to feed the children, and the father delivered household appliances for a small fee.

For the hardworking Italians, things gradually went uphill, Francesca “earned” many wealthy clients, and Antonio became an economist and advised Italy.

Childhood spent in the studio

The family raised another son, Santo, born in 1944, and a daughter, Donatella, born in 1956. All the mother's love was given to her eldest son.

The youngest suffered from a lack of maternal warmth, attention and hugs. He grew up in Francesca Versace's atelier. Gianni was fascinated by the clothes her mother designed and the process of creating them. He always followed on the heels of Francesca. The boy has vivid memories of many hours of fitting and adjusting fabrics on naked female bodies with his mother’s skillful hand. He often dreamed that his mother would show him as much attention as she did to her visitors.

Every morning Gianni and Francesca got up at half past eight, had breakfast and went to school and work. Their road passed by a brothel and the mother threateningly showed her fist to her son so that he would not dare look in the direction of the brothel. The boy obeyed and for the rest of his life, his ideal woman became an innocent girl who could not be touched.

After classes, Gianni invariably came to his mother in the atelier, where he spent hours watching her work, absorbing all the subtleties and providing all possible assistance.

At the age of 9, the school director called the boy’s parents to see him, noticing his drawings of (Gina Lollobrigida) and (Sophia Loren) with magnificent breasts and in revealing evening dresses. The teachers attributed to the student the presence of sexual interest in adult women, at a time when he simply wanted to create works of art, as Francesca did.

At the same time, the child sewed his first outfit - a dress lined with velvet.

Gianni liked to draw and after graduating from school he was enrolled in the university's Faculty of Architecture, which he soon abandoned at the insistence of his mother. Francesca wanted her son to work with her and he did not resist. Until the age of 25, the young man lived the life of his mother, he purchased fabrics and accessories, came up with new models and was constantly interested in fashion trends.

The fame of the young and talented designer began to spread much further than his hometown.

Invitation to Milan In 1970, a wealthy and enterprising businessman from Entso Nikozia, owner of the Florentine Flowers brand, invites the promising Gianni Versace to work. The biography begins a new round. Pictures of dizzying success drawn by a rich imagination young man, did not give him time to think. He buys a ticket and flies to Milan. IN

big city

You can achieve recognition only when you give it your all, devoting not only your time, but also your soul to your favorite work. Within a few days, Gianni helped Enzo put together a new collection, the presentation of which was a great success. For this work, the young designer was awarded the first Volkswagen car without a top. The fashion designer never tired of creating new ideas and styles, earning money and fame for his partners, but he began to dream of his own fashion house.

Creation of the Versace brand

In 1976, Santo moved to Milan and helped Gianni open his own business, taking over all financial issues and entrusting younger brother the creative side of things. The brothers create their own company, giving it the name “Gianni Versace S.p.A.”

March 28, 1978 in Palazzo della Permanente demonstrated the first collection from Gianni Versace to the world. Critics later wrote that those sitting in the closest rows had to wear black glasses so as not to be blinded by the glare on the podium. In the same year, the Versace Fashion House was created, which later became the standard of style and freedom.

As a symbol of his design decisions, Gianni chose the head of the Gorgon Medusa, whose hypnotic gaze he considered a harbinger of fame, luxury and victory.

In 1979, fashion designer Gianni Versace presents his first boutique in Milan's Via della Spiga district and launches a new line men's clothing.

Since the 80s, the Versace brand has become recognizable throughout the world. Designer clothing shocks with its frankness and boldness of cut. She opens her legs, shoulders and back, showing the beauty of the female body. The famous clients of the Versace Fashion House are: Princess Diana of Wales, outrageous singer Madonna, actress Charlize Theron, singer Elton John, musician Sting and other celebrities.

Gradually, the number of boutiques with mono-brand clothing around the world exceeded a hundred, and the family’s income reached a billion dollars. Versace experimented a lot, combining the incongruous, using laser welding of seams and computer patterns on clothes.

In 1981, the Versace family released the women's floral-chypre fragrance "Gianni Versace", and in 1986 they created a fragrance for men - "L'Homme".

Gianni’s creative nature did not rest on this either. Soon the world will be presented with a collection of tableware and exclusive furniture from the house of Versace, developed together with Rosenthal and Versace Home. Gianni Versace advertised the photo of his new line of activity widely and expensively.

The designer creates costumes for many productions, including: the television series “Miami Vice,” the ballet “The Legend of Joseph” by Richard Strauss, the opera “Don Pasquale” by composer Gaetano Donizetti and others. Versace Gianni films and theatrical performances He perceived it as his brainchild and participated thoughtfully in the development of costumes, considering every detail.

The fashion designer becomes interested in the world of painting and begins to invest in works of art and antiques. He has a large collection of paintings by expensive artists, including works by Pablo Picasso Pablo, Marc Chagall, and Wassily Kandinsky.

Gianni Versace and his lover

The flamboyant Italian fashion designer became famous for his love of the beautiful life. He had no restrictions financially and he spent as much as he wanted and where he wanted.

Because of this character trait, serious scandals repeatedly broke out in the Versace family.

Despite the fact that Gianni was surrounded by naked women from birth, his relationship with the female sex never developed. He was a homosexual and did not hide his gay orientation.

He often indulged in pleasures with young models, one of whom was Paul Beck, Donatella's future husband.

Gianni and Donatella Versace did not communicate for a whole year due to the fact that Paul left Gianni for Donatella.

Antonio D'Amico, developer of the Versace sports line, became the couturier's constant companion and lover.

Gianni appointed him to manage the Istane stores and rarely separated from his partner. Sometimes they took with them some handsome guy from a model or from a gay club and the three of them had fun. Versace always paid generously for his pleasures and everyone was happy. At the time of Gianni's death, his friend was 38 years old. According to the billionaire's published will, he received the right to lifelong residence in any of his villas and a monthly maintenance of $29,000.

Children of the Versace family

Gianni Versace's personal life was viewed through the prism of Donatella's family happiness. In the absence of their own heirs, her children were his children too.

Donatella gave birth to a daughter, Allegra Versace Beck, from fashion model Paul Beck on June 30, 1986.

The couturier left nothing to the children of Santo Francesca and Antonio after his death. He gave preference to one child in the family and the girl became the only woman in the Versace family, to whom Gianni could open his heart and give all his wealth.

Murder

South Beach (South Beach) - city nightlife. On the morning of July 15, 1997, its streets seemed deserted and quiet, and the clear sky foreshadowed a fine day. At about half past eight, its owner came out of the Versace villa. He started the morning as usual, had breakfast and went to buy the latest newspapers at the News Cafe. In the cafe, Gianni drank a cup of coffee and bought many magazines: “People”, “The New Yorker”, “Vogue”, “Entertainment Weekly”, the Spanish “Newsweek”. The purchase cost a little over fifteen dollars.

At a leisurely pace, he walked back along the most bohemian street in Miami - Ocean Drive. The fashion designer was already near his luxurious mansion “Casa Casuarina” when he was overtaken by a man dressed in dark shorts and a light T-shirt. The stranger had a baseball cap on his head and tennis shoes on his feet. This is how all the idle revelers in the city dress.

Gianni Versace did not expect death. He climbed the steps to the gate of the villa, inserted the key into the iron door and wanted to open it. The man who stood up after him suddenly raised a weapon to the designer’s head and fired.

Gianni fell onto the pink steps of the mansion. The killer shot the fallen victim one more time in the head, walked down the steps, put the gun in his backpack and headed down Ocean Drive. There, the man locked himself in a red Chevrolet pick-up truck stolen from a cemetery watchman, changed his clothes, abandoned the car and left on foot.

Shots near the house alarmed the fashion designer's friend and lover, Antonio De Amico, who was there. He ran outside and screamed when he saw his partner in a pool of blood. An ambulance was called and took Versace to Jackson Memorial Hospital Miami, but the victim could no longer be saved. He died on the operating table at the age of 50.

Antonio saw the killer moving away from the house and the police arrived along with an ambulance. However, Cunanan was caught only after 8 days. He committed suicide with the same pistol he used to shoot the designer.

The FBI found a suicide letter that said Versace was ruined by his involvement with sexual minorities. The police found it unusual that Andrew was wearing couture underwear at the time of his suicide.

The fashion designer was buried near, in the garden of the four-story yellow mansion “Villa Fontanelle”. When Gianni Versace's villa was sold to businessman Arkady Anatolyevich Novikov, the designer's remains were reburied in Milan.

A solemn farewell ceremony was organized at the Duomo di Milano (Milan Cathedral). The funeral of Gianni Versace attracted more than 2,000 people, among them: musician Elton John, model and actress Naomi Campbell, wife of D. Kennedy Jr. - Carolyn Jeanne Bessette-Kennedy, Princess Diana of Wales, fashion designer Giorgio Armani (Giorgio Armani) and other celebrities.

Versions

The murder case is officially closed, but there are still too many blank spots in it, from the reasons for the assassination attempt to the identity of who killed Gianni Versace.

• How, for example, did Cunanan manage to remain undetected for a long time in the most exclusive area of ​​​​Miami, if the man had already been put on the national wanted list by the FBI for previous murders? Acquaintances of the mysterious killer described him as a sociable and educated person, he spoke 7 languages, but at the same time he sold drugs and was the lover of rich men of non-traditional sexual orientation. How could a homosexual kill a similar individual for his penchant for same-sex sex?
• According to one version, Andrew met with Versace earlier(they were seen together at the premiere of the opera "Capriccio" in San Francisco). And Cunanan, convinced that he was infected with AIDS, killed all his possible partners one by one over the course of three months. Another version suggests a contract killing by Couturier’s relatives. Versace bequeathed his incredible fortune to his beloved niece Allegra, but not all close people were satisfied with this decision. All financial issues of the global brand were managed by the fashion designer’s sister Donatella and his

• One private detective, Frank Monte, claims that Versace “ordered” it. He said that a few months before the murder, the couturier asked a detective agency to conduct an investigation. Gianni suspected that organized crime was laundering money through his business. And this was partially confirmed by some discovered facts. Versace's sister Gianni paid a huge amount of money to have all references to their family's involvement in the mafia removed from the investigation materials.
• According to another, completely fantastic version, it is assumed that Gianni Versace did not die, but staged his own murder.

The face of the murdered man was disfigured beyond recognition, and sales of Versace collections went up at tremendous speed. By the way, the face of the killer himself was also unrecognizable after he shot himself in the head. The police found him and for 14 hours laid siege to the house on the water where the killer was hiding. And no one heard the shot! When the body was taken out, for some reason it turned out to be frozen.

Fingerprint identification lasted 10 hours, after which the Versace murder case was successfully closed. The next version assumes a development of events in which Cunanan did not commit these crimes at all. Perhaps they were made on his behalf.

Difficulties of the Gianni Versace brand

The death of her brother transferred control of the Gianni Versace brand into the hands of Donatella. She changed the name to Versace and a year later created the first clothing collection released without Gianni's participation.

The public accepted it without much enthusiasm, and sales began to fall. The sister did not try to copy her brother's style, but tried to maintain the style of the Versace house.

• A recovery in sales began only in 2000, when Jennifer Lopez wore Versace to the Grammy Awards.
• In 2003, Donatella held less expensive shows instead of expensive performances. In 2004, the Versus youth line, developed by Donatella, was closed by her due to lack of Money
• . In 2009, the line was restarted again.
• In 2006, Gianni Versace S.p.A. and Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. are starting a joint project to produce the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640 Roadster Versace.
• In 2010, Versace Unique smartphones were introduced to the world. In 2011 football club Italy Internazionale Milano Football Club received new uniform
• from a famous brand.

Donatella discovered another area of ​​activity for herself, starting to open Versace hotels. This is a palace in the Emirates (Palazzo Versace Residences Dubai) and a hotel in Dubai ().

Memory of Gianni Versace

In 2001, viewers saw the first biographical documentary film “Victim of Fashion. The Killing of Gianni Versace" (“Fashion Victim: The Killing of Gianni Versace”) directed by James Kent.

It tells the story of one of the incredible and mysterious crimes of the twentieth century and the failed work of the American intelligence services, which the killer Gianni Versace was able to carry out.

In 2002, director Claudio Barbati made the documentary “A” (“Gianni Versace: A Desire for Beauty”), which becomes a tribute to the world-famous fashion designer.

The script describes the enchanting creativity of the exalted fashion designer and includes fragments of interviews with N. Campbell, D. Versace, photographer Bruce Weber and others.

In 2007, at the La Scala theater, Maurice Bejart presented the ballet “Grazie Gianni Con Amore” (“Thank you, Gianni, with love”), dedicated to the 10th anniversary of Versace’s death.

For many years, the fashion designer and the French choreographer were friends and the couturier repeatedly sewed costumes for the director’s works. The premiere was presented by the world's best ballerinas. Some of the outfits for them were designed by Donatella Versace, the other part were costumes by Gianni Versace. In 2010, the book “Gianni Versace: La Biografia” (“Gianni Versace: Biography”) was published, which describes the milestones of the designer’s life and work. Its author was a journalist from Italy, Tony di Corcia. In 2011, Wall Street Journal journalist Deborah Ball's book "House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival" was published. And in 2013, the American television channel Lifetime presented a feature film biography of Canadian director Sarah Sugarman called “House of Versace”, based on the publication by D. Ball. The main heroine of the film is Donatella, who did not let her brother’s case go to chance, but raised it to the occasion.

new level

• In 1996, Gianni Versace was diagnosed with inner ear cancer., but he managed to overcome the disease.
• Santo, Gianni and Donatella had another sister, it is rarely mentioned in official sources. She was born third in the family and her name was Florentina. The girl died at the age of 12.
• It was the couturier who introduced the concept of “top model”, starting to single out favorites from his girls and paying them triple fees for the evening of the show.

• Every time Versace presented dresses and other clothes from new collections with special chic. He turned his shows into fantastic shows and organized more than 60 such productions, using special musical accompaniment.
• Gianni Versace's house, where he was shot, was purchased by the Beckhams.
• Gianni admitted in an interview that when he created his outfits, he thought about those prostitutes whom his mother forbade him to look at as a child. He reintroduced miniskirts into fashion and designed incredibly deep necklines.

Quotes

1. My law is not to argue with the wind, it knows which way it blows, but we, stylists, must only accurately determine its direction.
2. Don't get caught up in trends. Don't let fashion take over you, decide for yourself who you are, what you want to express through your clothes and lifestyle.
3. A person’s clothes, like his soul, are one and only, and a woman is an innocent angel, and not a fruit for sinful pleasures.
4. “Medusa symbolizes the beauty and fatal charms of the ancient Greek classics, both in art and philosophy, it is a synthesis of beauty and simplicity that literally paralyzes and even hypnotizes.”
5. “Fashion does not stand still, but clothes remain unchanged!”
6. “Time flies quickly, we are just sparks that want to shine as brightly as possible before they fade in the wind, clothes are glitter.”
7. In the past, aristocrats were born. Nowadays, aristocracy is acquired through deeds.
8. “When working, you need to be patient and show equal respect to everyone you encounter. Regardless of what level of the social ladder this or that person is on.”
9. “High fashion is the only art form that uses in its development technological processes, but at the same time remains himself.”
10. “If you see a woman wearing “VERSACE” clothes, know that she has a lover. Or she has sex often!”

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The name of the world famous fashion designer Gianni Versace is associated with a progressive view of the image modern woman, combining not only elegance, but also dynamics and even eccentricity. He was called the “king of the baroque”, among his fans were Hollywood, pop, sports stars, American astronauts, royalty, millions ordinary people. The style of Gianni Versace covers not only clothes; accessories, glasses, perfumes, dishes, telephones, furniture and cars are produced under this brand. December 2nd to this brilliant master who changed ideas about fashionable style, would have turned 67 years old. By this date, I propose to meet the 15th interesting facts from his biography.

1. The mother of the future fashion designer worked as a dressmaker in her own atelier, where Gianni was born. From childhood he was surrounded by fabrics, which later turned into beautiful dresses. My father was engaged in the sale of household appliances. In addition to Gianni, two more children were growing up in the family.

The parents wanted their youngest son to become an architect, so after graduating from school he entered the university, but he did not have to study there for long - his mother needed an assistant.

And since Gianni was hers right hand in carrying out various assignments, he returned to his hometown of Reggio di Calabria. At the age of 18, he began working in the family store. He not only helped his mother place orders and import fabrics, but also attended fashion shows and was interested in clothing design trends.

2. In 1972, he moved to Milan and began working as a designer in several companies; famous Italian couturiers immediately drew attention to him. And in 1978, 32-year-old Gianni Versace opened his own fashion house, where he placed both his older brother and younger sister. First show women's clothing created a sensation. “In the front row they put on sunglasses to protect their eyes from this bright splendor,” the newspapers wrote.

3. The head of the Gorgon became the emblem of the House of Models. According to the master, the ancient Greek jellyfish is a symbol of fatal spells that paralyze and hypnotize a person with its beauty and simplicity.


4. 80s The twentieth century is the heyday of the work of Gianni Versace. A woman dressed in a new dress has become more sexy, graceful, and elegant. The designer preferred tight-fitting fabrics that emphasized the figure, and experimented by combining silk with fur, leather and metal. He revived tight trousers, miniskirts, used corsets, opened his back and chest, making the look more sensual. Gianni Versace's clothes became popular. The income of his empire was approaching a billion dollars, and the total number of Versace brand stores around the world exceeded a hundred.


5. In 1982, the designer first showed evening dresses made of thin, soft and movable aluminum mesh, like fish scales, sparkling and enveloping the body. Versace's autumn-winter women's collection that same year received awards from Golden Eye and Cutty Sark.
6. It is Gianni Versace who owns the term “top model”. His clothes were popularized by Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Carla Bruni, Eva Herzigova, Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.

The couturier carefully selected music for his shows. Elton John wrote several compositions specifically for Versace. The designer made costumes for 25 opera and ballet productions by such masters as M. Bejart and V. Forsyth. He dressed Madonna for Four Rooms and, together with Elton John, made a modern version of Verdi's Aida. Gianni Versace was awarded the order for his contribution to fashion and music.
7. A big fan of Antiquity, in his clothes he combined aristocracy and kitsch, and each of his collections combined classic and modern: punk culture, baroque, pop art, frank sadomasochism and the style of gay clubs. Versace introduced into fashion the combination of black leather and gold accessories, the combination of evening dresses and underwear, bright prints on shirts, tight-fitting leather trousers on men, high heels. For the first time, a guy appeared on the podium without a tie and in jeans.

8. Clothes from Versace are recognized as the most fashionable and become an attribute of wealth and status. This is why his style is often counterfeited. However, Versace made not only clothes, but also jewelry. “While recognized masters were trying to say only “A,” Versace had already gone through the entire route from “A” to “Z.” The speed of thinking, calculation and speed of execution are gigantic,” enthused French choreographer Maurice Bejart.

The talented craftsman produced the “Vanity of Leonardo da Vinci” tiara and necklace. In 1981, the first women's perfume "Gianni Versace" was released, and in 1986 the men's fragrance "L" Homme was released. At the same time, the production of porcelain and glassware (together with Rosenthal) and furniture (Versace Home) from Gianni Versace began.

9. He becomes one of the richest people in the world. He owns several apartments, houses, villas in Rome, Milan, Lake Como, New York, Miami... He invests in antiques and art objects. His collection includes paintings by Kandinsky, Chagall, Picasso, and French impressionists. “Simply accumulating money is the lot of poor people. The paintings are collected by truly rich and visionary people,” the fashion designer liked to repeat.

10. Over 25 years of creativity, Gianni Versace performed more than 60 performances, carefully rehearsed and thought out to the smallest detail. On June 24, 1997, the most high-profile showing of “Baroque Bel Canto” took place in Florence in collaboration with composer Maurice Béjart.
11. In the mid-90s. Doctors diagnosed Versace with cancer, but the fashion designer caught the disease in time. In public, he was always cheerful and cheerful, gave interviews, and was personally present at all shows.
12. Gianni Versace was gay and never hid his views. For 11 years, his constant partner and lover was Antonio D'Amico. At the Versace Fashion House, he developed a sports line.

13. Versace’s first published book was simply called “Design.” He has designed costumes for films such as Showgirls, Ballet for a Lifetime and Judge Dredd.
14. Gianni Versace never appeared in public without bodyguards. He allowed himself to walk freely only in the vicinity of the Miami Beach villa. It was here that his killer, homosexual Andrew Cunanan, lay in wait and killed his idol on July 15, 1997.

15. On July 22, a civil funeral service took place in the Milan Cathedral, which was attended by thousands of friends and admirers of Versace’s talent from all over Italy and many countries of the world. Elton John, Sting, Naomi Campbell, Caroline Bissett-Kennedy, as well as designer colleagues Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld came to honor the memory of the great fashion designer. Only written condolences were collected for a five-volume work.

(50 years)

On July 15, 1997, Versace, aged 50, was murdered on the doorstep of his mansion Villa Casuarina in Miami Beach, Florida serial killer Andrew Cunanan.

Biography

Giovanni Maria Versace was born on December 2, 1946 in Reggio Calabria, Italy, the son of dressmaker Francesca Versace and her husband. Gianni grew up with his older brother Santo And younger sister Donatella. Elder sister Gianni Tina died at the age of 12 from tetanus.

Began his career in his hometown, in an atelier fashionable clothes Francesca Versace, which his mother owned. The main clients of the studio were representatives of wealthy families of the Calabria region - the wives of businessmen and top managers. Gianni helped his mother hem clothes, select accessories, and also supply fabrics. Here he learned to draw sketches, cut fabrics and sew dresses. In 1972, Versace moved to Milan and became a guest designer for several ready-to-wear lines, including Genny , Callaghan And Complex. In 1973 he became a designer Byblos, youth line of the fashion house Genny, and in 1977, by their own order, he developed a line Complex .

Fashion Empire

On March 28, 1978, Versace presented his first signature women's clothing collection at the Milan Art Museum. Palazzo della Permanente. The first full-fledged fashion show takes place in September of the same year. In 1978, Gianni opens a boutique on the most prestigious shopping street in Milan - Via della Spiga. Also in 1978, Gianni created his own fashion house. Gianni Versace S.p.A., appointing his older brother Santo as president and his sister Donatella as vice president. Donatella is responsible for creative supervision and acts as a key consultant to Versace. Gianni also hires Donatella's husband, Paul Back, as director of his men's clothing lines.

In the 1980s, Gianni developed clothes for his own brand and also developed new business areas. In 1981, he released a women's perfume, Gianni Versace, and in 1984, a men's fragrance. L'Homme. In 1982, Versace expanded its business by launching the production of jewelry and home goods, including furniture, textiles and tableware (together with the company Rosenthal) under the brand Versace Home .

In 1989, Versace asserts itself in the world of high fashion, starting to create haute couture collections under the brand Atelier Versace and organizing shows at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. For our own advertising campaigns and fashion shows in the 1980s-1990s, he used the most famous photographers and fashion models. The products of his fashion house were represented by Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Claudia Schiffer and many others.

He intensively cultivates the cult of top models, paying his favorite models fabulous fees and shaping their image as popular culture superstars. According to Donatella Versace, “Gianni created this phenomenon when he brought all the best models onto the catwalk at the same time.”

Gianni Versace reached the peak of his fame in the early 1990s, among his famous clients are Madonna and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Real estate

He had apartments in Milan and New York.

In 1977, Versace buys a villa Fontanelle, located on the shores of Lake Como in Italy, approximately 50 km from Milan. Four story building yellow color was built in the first half of the nineteenth century by the eccentric English lord Charles Currie and fell into disrepair in the 70s of the 20th century. Reconstruction work was completed in December 1980. Versace personally selected hundreds of paintings and other works of art to decorate the interior and exterior of his palace. Regular guests of the villa Fontanelle there were Sir Elton John, Madonna, Sting. At the beginning of 2008, the villa was purchased for 35 million euros by Russian restaurateur Arkady Novikov, who hired Milanese architect Cladio Pozza to reconstruct the property.

In 1992, Versace bought a house in the resort town of Miami Beach (Florida) for $2.95 million. Ocean Drive, which at that time housed the Amsterdam Palace residential complex with 24 apartments. Versace is returning to a mansion built in 1930 in Mediterranean style, historical name - Villa Casuarina. In place of 24 apartments there are 8 bedrooms, 2 kitchens, 3 living rooms, 10 bathrooms, a bar, a library and 4 living rooms. In 1993, Versace purchased and demolished the nearby Revere Hotel (built in 1950) to create a swimming pool and garden on the property. The work on the arrangement of the villa was carried out by English art critic and landscape designer Roy Strong, who had previously collaborated with Versace during the reconstruction of Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como. Versace lived in this mansion until July 15, 1997, when he was shot dead on the steps of the house by Andrew Cunanan.

Video on the topic

Personal life

Versace met his partner, model Antonio D'Amico in 1982. Their relationship continued until the death of the fashion designer. D'Amico worked at the Versace fashion house as chief line designer Istante And Versus Sport. In his will, Versace gave Antonio a lifetime monthly allowance of 50 million Italian lire (approximately $26,000) and the right to reside in his homes in Italy and the United States. However, the Versace family, to which Gianni’s fortune and real estate was transferred, with the help of lawyers, achieved a significant reduction in the amount of the assigned benefit and achieved a ban on Antonio’s presence in mansions. This was a consequence of the family's dislike of Antonio, especially on the part of Donatella.

Under pressure from his family, Versace hid information about his homosexuality from the public for fear of losing major clients. Only in June 1995 did Gianni come out and talk about his sexual orientation in an interview with the American gay magazine The Advocate.

Death and legacy

Versace Mansion Casa Casuarina in 2009.

Eight days later, Cunanan committed suicide on a houseboat surrounded by police. Cunanan was obsessed with Versace and often boasted to acquaintances of his friendship with the famous fashion designer, as well as with others famous people. . FBI agents believed that Versace and Cunanan met in San Francisco, but it is not known for certain what kind of relationship they had. Reporter Maureen Orth published an article in Vanity Fair in 2008, claiming that Cunanan and Versace first met at a nightclub in San Francisco in 1990 and likely crossed paths later in the gay circles of Miami and San Francisco. . However, the Versace family has always categorically denied the fact that Gianni and his killer knew each other.

Gianni Versace's body was cremated and his ashes were buried in the family crypt in the Moltrasio cemetery (commune of Cernobbio) near Lake Como.

At the time of his death, the value of the Versace fashion empire was estimated at $807 million. The company owned a network of 130 boutiques around the world. In accordance with Gianni Versace's will, the designer's entire multimillion-dollar fortune, as well as 50% of the shares of the Gianni Versace Group, was received by his beloved niece Allegra Versace, who was 11 years old at the time of her uncle's death. Gianni's brother Santo and his sister Donatella were not mentioned in the will, since they already owned large blocks of shares in the Gianni Versace Group (30% and 20% of the shares, respectively). Allegra took over the fashion empire on her 18th birthday: June 30, 2004. Until she came of age, Allegra's inheritance was managed by the girl's parents and her uncle Santo Versace.

Style Features

In the 1980s, Versace quickly became a fashion sensation. In his collections he uses bright colors, large fonts and sexy cutouts that stood in stark contrast to the muted colors and simplicity prevalent at the time. His style, dubbed "a combination of luxurious classicism and overt sexuality", has often been criticized. Versace combined lush baroque elements and meandering classicism with pop art and elements of punk culture, combining leopard print with lush acanthus and using bright contrasting colors and shiny surfaces. His provocative, overtly sexual clothing often bordered on kitsch. Versace created evening dresses based on patterns of women's underwear, introduced into fashion a combination of black leather and gold fittings and leggings, which required high heels. Counts [ by whom?] that he brought a man without a tie and a man in jeans to the podium for the first time.

Versace's famous quote, “I don't believe in good taste,” reflects his desire to “brazenly break the rules of fashion.”

In the theatre

Gianni Versace collaborated fruitfully with Maurice Bejart - he designed several of the choreographer’s ballets, their last working together became the ballet “The Priest’s House” (). In turn, the artists of Bejart's ballet troupe participated in the fashion designer's shows.

Versace's other works include provocative costumes for William Forsythe's ballet Herman Schmerman.

Bibliography

Filmography

• About the brand Versace The film “House of Versace” was shot.

Recognition and awards

• Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1986).
• Big Golden medal city ​​of Paris

Memory

• Musician Elton John, on whose album Versace worked in 1991-1994, dedicated his album to him The Big Picture (1997).

Literature

M. Castel. The Myth of Versace: Biography / Trans. with it. A. Borisova. St. Petersburg: ABC-classics, 2008. 352 p. + insert (32 pp.), 15,000 copies, ISBN 978-5-395-00095-8

Links

Notes

1. data.bnf.fr: open data platform - 2011.
2. SNAC
3. Find a Grave - 1995. - ed. size: 165000000
4. RKDartists
5. World of Versace. Versace.com.
6. Horyn, Cathy (6 October 2013), “Why Fashion Films Are Usually Cartoons”, The New York Times , p. 13
7. Obituary: Gianni Versace, The Independent(15 July 1997).
8. Dirk Cameron Gibson. Serial Murder and Media Circuses. - Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.
9. This Day in History: July 15: Gianni Versace Killed. Maxim(July 2009). Archived March 18, 2012.
10. Tyler Stoddard Smith Whore Stories: A Revealing History of the World's Oldest Profession, p. 172
11. Deborah Ball. House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival. - 2 February 2010. - P. 27, 31–32. - ISBN 978-0-307-46240-4.