Versace, Gianni

(1946-1997)

   Born in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, Versace grew up playing at his mother's couture business. Although he studied architecture and music, his true passion was for fashion. During the 1960s, Versace opened two shops (one for men, one for women) in his hometown, which is where the president of Genny Group saw his work; he moved him to Milan to design the Genny line and later Complice. In 1978, Versace opened Versace Atelier Collection, his signature company, catering to the celebrities and highly successful modern women and men. In 1989, he launched Versus, which was designed by his sister Donatella Versace. Versace is best known for his drop-dead eveningwear, elegant ready-to-wear, his Medusa logo, and a flair for all things Baroque. In addition to clothing, he created accessories, eyewear, home products, and, in 1995, launched his perfume, Blonde, named after his sister/muse, Donatella. Among Versace's awards and exhibitions include a show in 1985 at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Council of Fashion Designers of America award for his contribution to fashion in 1993. Versace also designed costumes for Salome at the La Scala Opera house and the 1991 production of Capriccio at the Royal Opera House. Tragically in 1997, Versace was shot dead in front of his Miami home, which left Donatella with creative responsibility and his brother, Santo, the company's CEO, to run the business. Immediately following his death, the Metropolitan Museum of Art paid tribute to him with one of the largest exhibitions of a designer's work. In 2002, a major retrospective of his work was presented at the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Art and Craft of Gianni Versace. Pieces from his collections included Elizabeth Hurley's 1994 "Medusa-headed safety pin dress," his signature gold metal mesh evening gowns, his fantastically sexy leather pieces, and his signature prints. In 2004, when Donatella's daughter Allegra turned eighteen, she inherited $700 million and assumed majority control of the vast Versace empire.

   See also Versace, Donatella.