17 Facts about Versace You Didn’t Know

We’ve all heard about Versace, but do we know about its history?

The Versace brand was founded in 1978 by Gianni Versace.

Gianni Versace, Francesca’s second son, was a successful seamstress in Reggio Calabria, Italy. Gianni went to Milan in 1972 and founded the Versace brand with the help of his brother Santo and his sister Donatella.

1: Donatella and tailoring

It is very interesting to know that Donatella Versace has never sewn, has no major in sewing, and has not sewn any clothes by herself, unlike Gianni, who has been sewing with her mother since he was 11 years old.

But Gianni was inspired by him and also used his talent in advertising and design.

2: Versace’s rise to fame

The Versace brand became well-known due to its relationships with celebrities.

Versace was one of the first to fill the front rows with stars and personal friends instead of inviting the rich to his fashion shows.

He quickly became more famous for throwing parties and creating supermodels, and many brands began to imitate them.

3: He was known as the rock’n’roll designer.

Gianni Versace was sometimes called “the designer of rock and roll” because of his association with musicians.

He designed clothes for artists such as Michael Jackson and Elton John.

Versace was also close to Eric Clapton, and Madonna, members of Duran Duran, Cher, and Sting.

4: To the originator of metal cloths (Orton)

One of the different works that made Versace more prominent in the fashion industry and became a symbol of Versace was the production of a golden metallic gown in 1982.

It was made of a metallic fabric that looked like a net and was very fine; the registered name of that fabric was “Oroton.” which was made by Versace and was also used to make bags.

5: The first symbolic moment of Versace

 

• Gianni designed a dress that became known as “That Dress.”

In 1994, Elizabeth Hurley, the girlfriend of Hugh John Mungo Grant, who was one of the main actors in the film, was present at the red carpet screening of the movie, four weddings, and a funeral.

Hugh was reportedly close friends with Versace and asked him to wear Versace for his girlfriend on the red carpet. This dress made Hurley popular, sparked a love affair between Hog and Hurley, and became known as “That

Since then, that dress has become one of Versace’s iconic designs.

This dress was made of silk and lycra; it had a very playful collar, and it had a slit on the side as if it were held by golden pins.

6: The murder of Gianni Versace

On July 15, 1997, at the age of 50, Versace was shot twice in the chest while leaving his Miami Beach mansion to get coffee and the morning paper.

Versace’s assailant was a 27-year-old man named Andrew Cunanan, a luxury prostitute (Gianni was gay). But Gianni was only one of Cunanan’s victims.

After the assassination of Gianni Versace, it was rumored that Kananan and Gianni met in San Francisco in 1990. But the Versace family always denied Gianni’s relationship with Andrew.

Donatella said in an interview with him: “Gianni had been away from work and company for two years due to the treatment of a rare type of inner ear cancer, and six months ago the doctors announced that he was cured and ready to return.” It was working.

The ceremony was attended by many important people, including Queen Diana, and was the last time Diana was seen in public. Queen Diana died in a car accident just a few weeks later.

Before Gianni’s death

A week before Gianni was killed, Versace had exhibited one of his collections at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, where Erin O’Conner and Naomi Campbell performed their last catwalk.

On the 15th anniversary of Gianni’s death, Donatella held a fashion show in her brother’s honor at the Ritz before it was closed for renovations.

Also on the 20th anniversary of his death in 2017, at the final show of Milan Fashion Week, his sister Donatella brought together some of the 90s supermodels Gianni worked with (Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Claudia Schiffer, and Carla Bruni).

and dressed them in the famous gold Versace dress made with Orton fabric and went to the catwalk with them.

About Versace’s killer

Qanel Versace was actually a serial killer who had killed four other men in three months before Gianni’s assassination. Her victims included her two ex-boyfriends, Jeffrey Terrill, and David Madison.

And there was a real estate developer named Lee Miglin and a janitor named William Reese. Versace was his last victim, and the police never found a motive for this murder.

After that, Andrew Cunanan was among the first 10 people wanted by the FBI, but he was never found until he was found dead. While committing suicide, he fired the gun that killed Giani.

• Versace after Gianni’s death

Gianni’s death shocked the fashion world at a time when the Versace brand was “at its peak.”

Gianni’s sister, Donatella, who was in charge of the Versus line at the time, took over as artistic director, while Santo took control of the financial side of the business.

But with successively successful management teams, the Versace brand faded, employees were laid off, and boutiques closed.

Since the early 2000s, when Versace faced declining sales, the company’s shares have been slowly sold to others. First, Blackstone Group bought 20%. Recently, the Michael Kors Tamma Saha Group.

7: Versace, the reason for Google’s Image option

 

• Versace’s second iconic moment

In 2000, Donatella Versace sent Jennifer Lopez a dress to attend the Grammy Awards. In fact, the dress was sent by mistake, but Jennifer decided to wear it anyway.

This dress immediately received significant global media coverage and was searched on Google millions of times. This behavior of users made Google realize that, apart from written content, people are also looking for images.

Therefore, he added the Image option in Google so that people could easily find the images they wanted.

8: Versace brand symbol

Everyone knows that the logo of Versace is Medusa, but few people know what it means.

Medusa is a Greek mythological figure who was famous for having snake hair and eyes that could turn men to stone.

Gianni Versace wanted to use Medusa because of her devastating beauty, which made everyone fall in love with her. He hoped his clothes would create the same stunning effect on his customers.

9: Giani gives 50% of his company to Allegra, his sister’s daughter

Believing that he would not survive his cancer surgery, Versace drew up a will in which he left 50 percent of the company to his niece Allegra, who was 11 years old when Gianni died.

Allegra acquired his shares in 2004, when he turned 18, and has been a member of the board since then.

However, she started working at Versace at the age of 24, but she is still shy and avoids being in front of the camera and the public.

10: year-old Gianni’s love

Gianni Versace met Italian model Antony D’Amico in 1982 when his company was expanding. This couple was together for many years, and only the death of Nabe Hemgan Giani in 1997 ended their relationship.

Before his death, Versace made sure that his partner, Anthony D’Amico, would live in peace and comfort.

He offered Anthony a lifetime pension and access to Versace stores. However, the Versace family did not carry out this part of Gianni’s will and left him with much less.

11: Donatella’s marriage

She married the American model Paul Beck in 1983, and immediately after the marriage, Donatella placed her in an important position in the company.

They gave birth to two children named Allegra and Daniel.

But finally, they got divorced in 2000. And to this day, the couple has never revealed the reason for their separation.

12: Donatella’s sadness at Gianni’s death

Donatella and Gianni were very close, and Gianni’s death had a deep impact on Donatella. In addition, the pressure of Versace’s management and control was too much for Donatella.

He was not only in charge of Versace and its product lines, but also the production of perfumes, watches, home appliances, and more.

Donatella was overwhelmed by the fact that he had to present ten collections of his designs per year. And it didn’t take him long to knock him off his feet.

• Donatella’s addiction in Gianni’s absence

Donatella Versace first used cocaine in the 1980s, but following the death of her brother, she turned to drug addiction to get through the days.

He said that when he used drugs every day, his brain stopped working, he became aggressive, and even his children were afraid of him. His work caused a lot of losses for the company, and it was during this period that Versace and Beck parted ways.

• Addiction treatment for Donatella

In 2004, Donatella’s two children, Allegra and Daniel, sought help from a family friend, Elton John, to leave her. On Allegra’s 18th birthday, Donatella was treated in Arizona and has since regained consciousness. And while Allegra was hiding her dark secret,

13: The Secret of Allegra

In the early 2000s, when Donatella was destroying Versace with her addiction, some paparazzi photos of her daughter Allegra stood out. He was terribly emaciated.

Journalists began to ask, and finally, in 2007, the Versace family revealed the truth. They announced that Allegra had been struggling with anorexia for several years but was receiving medical treatment.

14: Hotel Versace

In the 1980s, Gianni and Donatella Versace decided to furnish their newly purchased house in Miami with their own brand of furniture. This was not only their first experience in the field of interior design but also the beginning of a much bigger project called “Palazzo Versace.”

The first Palazzo Versace opened in Australia in 2000, followed by Dubai in 2015. Both were designed by Donatella Versace, who was committed to making her brother’s dreams come true, even after his death. And as you can guess, the furniture and all the decorations were done by Versace.

15: Versace’s interest in appearing in the cinema

Versace had a passion for film and designed costumes for several films throughout the 1990s, including Judge Dredd, To Wong Foo, and Showgirls.

He was also very interested in theater, and he designed many costumes for ballet and opera performers. Passionate about exotic costumes and performing arts, he also designed costumes for Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson’s “Say, Say, Says” video and Elton John’s 1993 world tour.

16:  A film made about the murder of Versace

The subject of Gianni Versace’s murder was featured in the second season of American Crime Stories, which consisted of nine episodes and featured true crimes.

After the release of this series, Donatella complained to him to stop production, but his efforts did not yield any results.

After that, Donatella asked Ryan Murphy, the producer of that show, to separate her children from the story of the movie, which Ryan accepted.

17: What is happening at Versace now?

Today, Versace’s designs are present in museums all over the world, including in Germany, Japan, Chicago, and London.

The company’s turnover increased from 268 million euros in 2009 to 668 million euros in 2017. Although it lost 7.4 million euros in 2016, it made a profit of 15 million euros in 2017.

Today, artists like Migos and Bruno Mars admire Versace and its lifestyle. Lady Gaga is the face of this brand and has a close friendship with Donatella.

Models like Gigi Hadid, Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner, and Kaia Gerber all participate in the brand’s fashion shows.