Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer who brought vitality and art to an industry considered out of touch with street culture, and he was one of talented fashion designers in the world. Even though he has passed away, his immense skills in cutting and tailoring and the fascinating colors he used were proof of why one could easily fall in love with his designs. Known for his tremendous contributions to fashion and style Gianni Versace has made a name for everyone to wear. He has created a fashion dynasty imprinted with a Versace vision. Every inch of his home, casa casuarina, an opulent, ocean-fronted Miami mansion, was covered in the Versace medusa head. He brought rock, art, sexuality, and brilliant color into contemporary fashion.
Versace was born in Reggio Calibri, Italy on December 2, 1946. He has an older brother Santa, and a younger sister Donatella. He was the middle one of his family. His family was always his priority. His mother was a quality, talented dress maker who imported French designs for a local conservative, middle class client. Versace learned the fundamentals of fashion from his mother. He was raised in the world of design, learning his trade at the hands of a mother who ran her own dressmaking business. Versace studied architecture in college prematurely and began working as a designer and buyer at his mother’s dress making business. Gianni Versace has a compelling sense of himself as a spiritual being who is the searcher and a seeker of truth. Gianni’s life is devoted to investigations to the unknown and finding the answers to the mysterious of life. He enjoyed his fine mind, and is an analytical thinker, capable of great concentration and theoretical insight. He enjoyed research and putting the pieces of an intellectual puzzle together and once he has enough pieces in place, he was capable of highly creative insight and practical solutions to problems. He preferred to work alone. He tends to be quite adaptable and he finds it easy to fit into most social setup and vocational fields. There are no particular virtues that can cause an imbalance in Gianni’s personality and life, but he has to work hard and persistently to develop those special strengths that he desires to attain. Gianni was a gifted marketer of his own designs.
In 1978, with the help of his brother, Santo Versace, he founded the Gianni Versace company. He launched his first clothing line in Milan, Italy, in 1978. In 1989, Versace debuted his first couture collection. He continued to add to his fashion empire, expanding into home furnishings and perfumes. Throughout his career, Versace designed for such high-profile figures as Madonna, Princess Diana, Elton John and Tina Turner. The business was always a family affair, with his brother Santo and sister Donatella working for him. Gianni Versace became one of the top fashion designers of the 1980s and ’90s. He was shot and killed outside his home in South Beach, Florida, in 1997.
Versace became known for his glamorous styles, producing a range of siren dresses that became his trademark. He often used innovative materials such as aluminum mesh or cutting-edge techniques like “neo-couture” laser technology to fuse leather and rubber. The head of Medusa was also a recurring image on many of his clothing items and accessories. He launched his first couture collection in 1989 and added two clothing lines, Versus and Instate, to his business in the ’90s.As far as his personal life is concerned, he was openly gay and met Antonio D’Amico, a model and his partner in 1982. They remained a couple until Gianni was murdered. Versace left D’Amico with a lot of money, more than 50 million lire. In addition to this, his boyfriend was allowed to reside in any of Gianni’s homes in America and Italy. However, in reality the case was a little different since Gianni’s family overtook his earnings. D’Amico then started his own business. Gianni loved his family, his nephews and nieces: Francesca, Antonio, Daniel and Allegra. He was very close to them and enjoyed spending time with his brother’s and sister’s children
Gianni was involved in several screen productions, as a designer as well as an actor. He was selected for acting in look in 1994, VH1 Fashion and Music Awards (movie) in 1995, Catwalk (documentary film) in 1996, and Spice World in 1997. Gianni designed costumes for A Life Less Ordinary, Ballet for Life and VH1 Fashion Awards in 1997; The Birdcage, Mad Dog Time, and Shakespeare Shorts in 1996; Judge Dredd, Magic of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces, Showgirls, and to Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie New mar in 1995; Kika, and Born Yesterday in 1993; Cin, and Once Upon a Crime in 1992; Vicenza di Natale in 1991; and several more. With a keen eye of talent, he has worked with top photographers such as Helmut Newton, Herb Kitts, Bruce Weber and Steven Meisel, and his favorite- Richard Avedon. He was created with creating the supermodel, by agreeing to pay high sums to Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turkington. In 1982 he met his partner Antonio d’ Amico, with whom he enjoyed 15 years’ relationship.
Versace was only 50 years old when he was murdered outside his South Beach home in Miami, Florida, on July 15, 1997. The beloved fashion designer was gunned down by 27-year-old spree killer Andrew Cunanan, who was found dead in a Miami Beach boathouse eight days later. Versace was survived by his longtime partner Antonio D’Amico. He leaves behind on $807 million business with 130 boutiques worldwide, with work ranging from $30 000 dresses to $50 jeans to china.
