Todd NesnickThe legendary Gianni Versace defined his work shortly: “chic and shock.” Just two words, but behind them is a whole era, painted with rich colors, entwined with baroque monograms, and oozing aggressive luxury and sex appeal without fear of being called vulgarity. A singer of hedonism, Gianni Versace passed away at the zenith of his success as a multi-billionaire and head of his own fashion empire.
Therefore, the best possible gift is the success and prosperity of the fashion house he founded, which today is run by his sister Donatella Versace. She barely survived the loss of her beloved brother in 1997, but, having taken the reins of the company, she restored its former greatness. Today, Donatella honors the spirit of the founder and, in memory of his brother, tirelessly rewrites and updates the key codes of his work.
Sexual Revolution
Gianni Versace inspired the cult of hedonism into fashion, conquering the main characters of the 1990s – from Madonna, Cher, and Tina Turner to Princess Diana herself, who was literally reborn after her divorce from Prince Charles. With his interpretation of female beauty, Gianni put an end to the boom in images of strong and independent women, because the self-confidence gained in the 1980s no longer required them to be obligatory armor in the form of a wide-shouldered power suit. The hallmark of the designer was flashy, even aggressive sex appeal under the heading “too”: too short skirts, too deep necklines, too high heels.
The Supermodel Phenomenon
It was designer Gianni Versace, along with marketing genius Donatella Versace, who changed the public’s perception of fashion shows and became one of the creators of the supermodel phenomenon. They invited models from the glossy pages to the catwalk and provided them with a completely new level of popularity, comparable only to rock stars and Hollywood divas.
Versace models really became the superstars of the industry: they received huge royalties, flew private jets, and lived in suites. In the host of long-legged goddesses – all those whom we today call exclusively supermodels: Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Carla Bruni, Helena Christensen, and Stephanie Seymour. And the main characters of Versace shows were the trio of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, and Linda Evangelista.
Men’s Fashion
Gianni Versace began his career with the launch of a women’s line: on March 28, 1978, at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan, he presented his debut collection with resounding success. His men’s collections began to appear a year later – in 1979, after the opening of the first mono-brand boutique on Via della Shpiga. But Versace received his first honorary award precisely as a designer of menswear.
In 1991, before the CFDA Fashion Designers Council Award, he received the Woolmark Award for “challenging the established canons of men’s fashion through bold colors, artistic fabrics, and dramatic silhouettes.” To get one today, in the heyday of men’s fashion free from stereotypes as a marker of new masculinity and its supremacy over women, is natural. And in 1991, during the reign of the Wall Street wolf in the perfect blue pinstriped suit, it was out of the ordinary!
On July 14, 1997, just a week after showing his couture collection in Paris, Gianni Versace was murdered on the threshold of his Miami mansion when he went out for coffee and the latest press. As bright as his collections, the designer’s life path was cut short by Andrew Cunanan.