Gianni Versace

By Sara Templeton

Armani, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Gucci and Versace. These are the names that society's self-described elite have to have. No buts.

If the shoes aren't Italian, forget it. Sunglasses not from Europe? Ciao, ciao!

It's possible to trace the core fashion industry back a couple of centuries, to age-old boutique outlets, which came before the Internet, pay-per-view and iPods. More recently though, a man by the name of Gianni Versace set the wheels in motion for what has become arguably today's biggest fashion empire - Versace.

In 1946 however, globalisation wasn't exactly an oft-used term. It was on December 2nd of said year, Gianni was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy.

He grew up in a working-class society in Southern Italy, next to sister Donatella and brother Santo.

You could say Gianni's career started off when his mother got him an apprenticeship at her dressmaking business when he was a teen and, by the early 70s, he was working on his first prêt-à-porter (ready to wear) collection. Not bad for a 25-year old.

He had worked for fashion houses such as Callaghan, Genny and Complice after striking out on his own. Working as a freelance fashion designer, Gianni proved his worth in due time.

Then, in 1978, when he was aged 32, Gianni Versace enlisted his brothers help. Santo Versace agreed to help out and in that year they formed the Gianni Versace company.

Towards the end of the year, the duo launched their first Versace collection for women, which went on show in the Northern Italian city of Milan.

From here the Versace label just kept on getting bigger. Recognised for his "...distinctive cuts, vibrant prints and unconventional materials," Gianni won the Cutty Sark and Golden Eye (L'Occhio d'Oro) awards for his 1982-1983 Winter women's collection - which some of you may remember for the famous metal chain-mail dress.

In 1988, the judges of the Cutty Sark Award called Gianni "The most innovative and creative designer in the world." Always a nice little accolade for improving one's self-esteem.

Since then, Gianni Versace had won numerous fashion awards, had been congratulated by the French and Italian presidents and was living the life of a mega-star.

As time wore on, Gianni Versace was more often than not known as the bad-boy of the fashion industry, which is perhaps why his work was so popular with Hollywood superstars, top models, pop-stars, singers and performers.

Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell were a few of his favourite models, while names such as Steven Spielberg, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Hugh Grant, Elizabeth Hurley and Jennifer Lopez would always be seen to be wearing Versace.

Before long, the Versace family were multimillionaires, living the lifestlyes of the ultra-rich and famous. Sadly, this came to a tragic end when Gianni Versace was shot and killed on July 15, 1997, at his Miami home in the state of Florida.

The man who murdered Gianni Versace was Andrew Cunanan, and he did so with extreme brutality and violence. After finding Gianni dead, the manhunt for fugitive Cunanan spanned eight days, in what was largest manhunt in American history (apart from Osama bin Laden).

Cunanan was found dead, having killed himself.

There are many reasons as to why people believe Gianni Versace was shot dead in what could best be described as a most horrific killing.

But rather than dwell on these grisly issues, we're sure that the man behind the one of the most influential fashion houses today would rather be remembered for what he was so passionate about.

Links:
Versace family & the Mafia article
Versace website
Gianni Versace fansite