17th, August 1997

End of a legend

Looking back at the creative, and controversial side of Gianni Versace

By Robin Givhan

Designer Gianni Versace always understood that fashion was about much more than clothes. He knew that a simple dress could also make allusions to art, music, architecture and the cult of celebrity.

He commissioned performers like Boy George and the artist formerly-known as Prince to create soundtracks for his theatrical fashion presentations. Prints from such artists as Jim Dine inspired garments in his collection. His designs focused on angular construction or dramatic draping. Backstage just before a show, he could be found pulling, touching and reshaping a dress on a model. And he was always sure to fill his front-row seats with the celebrities of the moment - not just the famous, but also the infamous. Elizabeth Hurley and Hugh Grant came to one of his shows just after Grant's embarrassing arrest for soliciting a prostitute.

Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn came when they were couple non grata. Lisa Marie Presley graced his front row in a New York show.

Mike Tyson was a last minute arrival at another.

He designed costumes for the ballet. He created housewares. And he, in cooperation with Roy Lichtenstem, participated in the first Florence Biennial that explored the link between fashion and the visual arts.

"He was so much more than just the world of fashion," says friend and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. "His eyes and ears and mind were open to everything which is why he was such a great designer."

Versace, 50, was gunned down last month in front of his South Beach Miami estate.

Versace was one of the few designers whose name had become known outside the fashion industry. "He understood how to manipulate the press; he kept supermodels on the runway," Wintour says. "He understood the power of celebrities in the front row."

His style was wildly flamboyant, profoundly glamorous and often crossed the line into a wonderful, dangerous vulgarity. He unapologetically cut dresses obscenely low or ridiculously high.

Stiletto heels were part of his classic repertoire. He was known for his chain-mail dresses, his glamorous gowns seemingly held together by safety pins, his daring forays into bondage attire. But he could also cut a perfect suit that blended classic lines with delicate sensuality.

While fashion reports announced supermodels were passe, Versace continued to put them on his runway. In his world, there was no place for a girl - as the models are called who wasn't bursting with attitude, sensuality and the ability to arouse an audience with her walk.

He liked his male models beefy and beautiful - as if Michelangelo's David had suddenly come to life. And in his advertising campaigns and coffee table books, Versace's men were photographed with a loving, homoerotic eye.

I think he's the first great post-Freudian designer," says Richard Martin, curator of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute. "I think part of it was his love for sensuality... He had no hang-ups."

Versace's was one of the few names that moved outside of the realm of the fashion salon; it was a name embedded in popular culture. In part it was because he embraced such diverse messengers.

Versace knew the power of fashion went far beyond the garments.

It had the ability to capture the public imagination, to break down barriers and to electrify an audience. A dress could launch a career as it did for Hurley. It could help to remake an image as his feminine, white ruffled dress did for Courtney Love at the Oscars. Princess Diana wore his clothes. He courted rock stars such as Eric Clapton, along with rappers such as Tupac Shakur. Diplomats and their children bought his clothes. Some stores had to remove the buttons from Versace garments, lest they be snipped off, and stolen.

Versace moved in a circle of models, rock stars and actors. And like his friends and acquaintances, he was often talked about in hushed tones filled with rumour and innuendo. It could have been the mere fact that the company had an estimated $563 million in revenue last year. He was dogged by rumours of mob connections. A 1994 story in a London newspaper talked about such a relationship.

Versace sued and was awarded a settlement of $150,000 and a public apology.

When asked in March just who does buy those fabulously sleazy and wonderfully made clothes, he smiled and said the Swiss are great customers. "They're so rich my dear, all those bankers."

Versace's was one of the great, close-knit fashion families. The family owned company was controlled by Gianni Versace, his older brother, Santo, and their sister Donatella. His long time companion was Antonio D'Amico. Versace learned about fashion from his mother Francesca, a boutique owner and dressmaker. His father Antonio was an appliance salesman. After working for a series of other design houses including Complice, Callaghan and Genny, he launched his line in March 1978, with a military-inspired collection. It was a fast success that grew steadily through the gluttonous '80s.

Versace and his creations, daring and dazzling

First it was the ravishing Aishwarya Rai, the Indian Miss World. Last year, dazzling Venezuelan Jacqueline Aguilera wore the crown and this year it's Greek beauty Irene Skliva. All these Miss Worlds chose to visit Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Rotary club of Colombo East to lend their support to various charitable causes.

Tthe reigning Miss World Irene Skliva who graces our Mirror cover this week

is now in Sri Lanka to attend the installation ceremony of the twelfth president of the Rotary Club Of Colombo East Dharshan John. Miss World will also visit the Sahanaya, day care centre for mental health and Sifani Jewellers, the main sponsors of her visit. The Sunday Times is the official newspaper for her visit and so look out for some exclusive pictures in next week's Mirror Magazine as we bring you highlights of Miss World in Sri Lanka.

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