Giovanni Versace
Born: Dec 02, 1946 AD
Died: 1997 AD, at 50 years of age.
Nationality: Italian
Categories: Designers, Fashion Designer
Died: 1997 AD, at 50 years of age.
Nationality: Italian
Categories: Designers, Fashion Designer
1946 - Giovanni "Gianni" Versace born on the 2nd of December in Reggio Calabria, Italy, where he grew up with his siblings Santo and Donatella, along with their father and dressmaker mother, Francesca. Gianni Versace was a charismatic gay man and accomplished Italian designer of clothing and theater costumes.
1972 - Flew north to Milan on the 5th of February. Salvatore Chiodini and Ezio Nicosia of the Florentine Flowers clothing mill had asked Versace to hurry there to design a collection that had to be rushed.
1973 - Designed women's ready-to-wear clothing for Callaghan, known for its knitwear and Genny, which featured leather and suede.
1974 - Created and developed his own line-Complice. Although he wasn't yet working under his own name, Versace already had his own label. Under the Complice name, Versace designed an all leather collection. He was one of the few designers to feature leather at this time.
1978 - After working for several Italian ateliers in Milan, Versace established his own company, Gianni Versace Spa.
1979 - Began a collaboration with the American photographer Richard Avedon.
1982 - Won the first of a series of awards, "L'Occhio d'Oro,", Golden Eye for the best fashion designer of the fall/winter collection for women.
- Opened a new chapter in his career, making costumes for the theatre, opera and ballet. He began a close collaboration with choreographer Maurice Bejart.
1986 - President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga, confers the decoration of "Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana" on him on the 24th of January.
1987 - Designed the costumes for Richard Strauss' opera, Salome. On the 7th of April, the book Versace Teatro was published.
1988 - Opened a 600-square-meter showroom in Madrid, his first boutique in Spain on September.
1990 - The San Francisco opera season opened with Richard Strauss' Capriccio, with costumes designed by Versace on the 21st of October. The following year the fragrance "Versus" was debuted and "Signature," Versace's classic line, was launched. Elton John, an ardent admirer of Versace, began his world tour for which Versace designed the costumes.
1993 - Was awarded the coveted American Fashion Oscar on the 1st of February.
1997 - The designer battled with a rare cancer of the inner ear. He was presumed to be in remission when, on the 15th of July, returning from his customary walk on Ocean Drive, he was gunned down outside his ocean-front mansion in Miami Beach, Florida. He was murdered by spree killer Andrew Cunanan, who committed suicide shortly after the murder. Police reported that Andrew Cunanan had committed suicide using the same handgun that had been used to murder Gianni Versace.
- His brother Santo Versace was announced as the new CEO of the Versace holding on September. Gianni's sister Donatella Versace is the new head of design.
1972 - Flew north to Milan on the 5th of February. Salvatore Chiodini and Ezio Nicosia of the Florentine Flowers clothing mill had asked Versace to hurry there to design a collection that had to be rushed.
1973 - Designed women's ready-to-wear clothing for Callaghan, known for its knitwear and Genny, which featured leather and suede.
1974 - Created and developed his own line-Complice. Although he wasn't yet working under his own name, Versace already had his own label. Under the Complice name, Versace designed an all leather collection. He was one of the few designers to feature leather at this time.
1978 - After working for several Italian ateliers in Milan, Versace established his own company, Gianni Versace Spa.
1979 - Began a collaboration with the American photographer Richard Avedon.
1982 - Won the first of a series of awards, "L'Occhio d'Oro,", Golden Eye for the best fashion designer of the fall/winter collection for women.
- Opened a new chapter in his career, making costumes for the theatre, opera and ballet. He began a close collaboration with choreographer Maurice Bejart.
1986 - President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga, confers the decoration of "Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana" on him on the 24th of January.
1987 - Designed the costumes for Richard Strauss' opera, Salome. On the 7th of April, the book Versace Teatro was published.
1988 - Opened a 600-square-meter showroom in Madrid, his first boutique in Spain on September.
1990 - The San Francisco opera season opened with Richard Strauss' Capriccio, with costumes designed by Versace on the 21st of October. The following year the fragrance "Versus" was debuted and "Signature," Versace's classic line, was launched. Elton John, an ardent admirer of Versace, began his world tour for which Versace designed the costumes.
1993 - Was awarded the coveted American Fashion Oscar on the 1st of February.
1997 - The designer battled with a rare cancer of the inner ear. He was presumed to be in remission when, on the 15th of July, returning from his customary walk on Ocean Drive, he was gunned down outside his ocean-front mansion in Miami Beach, Florida. He was murdered by spree killer Andrew Cunanan, who committed suicide shortly after the murder. Police reported that Andrew Cunanan had committed suicide using the same handgun that had been used to murder Gianni Versace.
- His brother Santo Versace was announced as the new CEO of the Versace holding on September. Gianni's sister Donatella Versace is the new head of design.
Page last updated: 1:07pm, 09th Mar '07
Related Books
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Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History by Maureen Orth (Mass Market Paperback - Jun 18, 2000) Vanity Fairwas Andrew Cunanan's favorite magazine, so there's a certain synergy to Maureen Orth's engrossing and meticulously researched account of Cunanan's 1997 cross-country killing spree, which...  Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Versace : The Naked and the Dressed: 20 Years of Versace by Avedon (Hardcover - Oct 27, 1998) When Gianni Versace was shot dead outside his Miami villa on July 15, 1997, few believed that his fashion empire would survive. The chutzpah and flamboyance of Versace the fashion house seemed... |
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Vanitas: Designs by Gianni Versace and Lady Julia Trevelyan Oman (Hardcover - Mar 18, 1994)  Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Men Without Ties (Hardcover - Apr 18, 1995) Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Do Not Disturb by Gianni Versace and Roy Strong and Richard Avedon (Hardcover - Jun 18, 1996) Ah, naughty Gianni! The front cover ofDo Not Disturbshows Versace himself in a Renaissance pose, wrapped in a sumptuous silk quilt; what you can't see on this page is the back cover, on which a... |
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The Art of Being You by Gianni Versace and Germano Celant and Ingrid Sischy and Richard Martin and Frank Moore and Julian Schnabel and Steven Meisel and Irving Penn (Hardcover - Jun 18, 1998)  Usually ships in 24 hours |
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Related DVDs
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Fashion Victim: The Killing of Gianni Versace (DVD) The story of Gianni Versace is a story of the late twentieth century's obsession with greed, fame, celebrity and glamour. Here we encounter a self styled emperor, Gianni, and his nemesis, Andrew...  Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks |
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Charlie Rose with Jeffrey Toobin&Evan Thomas; Samuel L. Jackson; E. Joshua Rosenkranz, Nina Totenberg&Richard Cotton (July 24, 1997) (DVD) Charlie speaks with journalists Jeffrey Toobin and Evan Thomas about the suicide of Gianni Versace's killer, Andrew Cunanan. Next, Samuel L. Jackson tells Charlie about overcoming addiction and his... Usually ships in 24 hours |
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The World's Greatest Designers (DVD) Meet the designers behind the clothes we all wish to wear. "The World's Greatest Designers" features ten of the most famous and influential designers of the century: Valentino, Karl Lagerfeld,... |
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