Among famous Italian fashion houses, Versace is certainly among the most famous in the world. After all, its history speaks for itself. And really, telling it, one can never get bored. It is an all-Italian success story, made up of fashion shows, top models, made in Italy and also terrible episodes such as the death of its founder, Gianni, in the United States in 1997 at the hands of a madman.
Let’s review in this new post by our portal, the beginnings, the rise and the main events related to the world-famous Versace brand, which reflects Italian luxury in fashion. Welcome back to our site!
The beginnings of Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was projected early on into fashion and tailoring, considering that it was his mother who owned one. But in 1972 he decided to take the big leap and move, from Reggio Calabria to Milan. Here he immediately began to take steps to find collaborations, such as those with De Parisini of Santa Margherita.
Gianni thus began to make a name for himself, and four years later after his arrival in Milan, so in 1976, his brother Santo also arrived. The two, with Claudio Luti, founded the Versace company, and in 1978 there was their first fashion show. The beginning of the planetary success of this fashion house, which makes luxury and creativity (which is founded with classicism) its trademark.
The ascent of Versace
Photographers of a certain level also began to work for Versace. Among them, one must certainly mention Helmut Newton and Bruce Weber. Not to mention, then, Richard Avedon. Versace likes to be daring, and from the 1980s they begin to make waves. They range from the metallic mesh of 1981 to the bondage style that is at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s.
The company was not yet ready for Versace-branded designs, but the gist of it is that we start talking about Versace, indeed. In 1991 Versace Signature was born, two years later Versace Home Collection. But there are so many projects. However, in the meantime begins a dark period that leads to the death of Gianni Versace.
Gianni Versace between cancer and murder
In 1993 Gianni Versace has an ear tumor and, therefore, passes 30 percent of the shares to Santo and 20 percent to his sister Donatella. But the most shocking episode happens in Miami on July 5, 1997. Gianni Versace is murdered in his own villa in Miami and, from there, the Versace brand struggles to recover. After all, the ‘hit’ was truly remarkable. An economic crisis that comes until 2004 when CEO Giancarlo Di Risio takes over the whole situation and Donatella Versace is in charge of the creative area.
Meanwhile, several exhibitions are organized, between London and New York, and the Versace company recovers. Or, at least, it begins to do so.
Versace sold to Michael Kors.
In the fall of 2018, Michael Kors buys the entire Versace brand for just over $2 billion. A major acquisition, so much so that Kors’ group changes its name to Capri Holdings. Donatella Versace remains, however, in her role as creative director, in a kind of creative continuity.
A divestiture that was almost inevitable, considering that, in any case, the pre-1997 glories were yet to reach 100% and, in any case, the expenses to sustain a brand of this magnitude were certainly not few.
Curiosity: is it thanks to Versace that Google Images was born?
A question that is unlikely to get a certain answer but we Italians like to think of it this way: it is thanks to Versace that Google Images was born. The reason? For Jennifer Lopez, at the 2000 Grammy Awards, an iconic and legendary dress was designed: the jungledress.
Well, users were hardly interested in the event but wanted to see the artist’s dress. In this way, Google realized that so many people might be interested in images and created, precisely, a new section that it called Google Images.
Maybe the Google experts already had in mind to create this section however surely the dress designed by the Versace company for the American singer accelerated the project. Because, especially in fashion, we speak through images. If, then, they are also made in Italy, then there is something more!
