How Near Heaven |
Born in Reggio,
Calabria, Italy,
Gianni Versace moved
to Milan at the age of
25 and worked as a
fashion designer,
drawing his first
ready-to-wear
collections for Genny,
Complice, and
Callaghan. In 1978, he
presented his first
collection, signed
with his own name, at
a fashion show in
Milan. The following
year he began a
collaboration with
photographer Richard
Avedon. Mr. Versace's
famed designs have
crossed over into the
world of opera, dance,
music, and the
stage.
In 1982, Mr. Versace
won the first of many
awards, "L'Occhio
d'Oro" for the best
fashion designer of
the 1982-1983
Fall-Winter collection
for women; in this
collection he displays
the famous metal
garments, now a
classic feature of his
fashion. In the same
year, he began a
collaboration with the
Teatro alla Scala,
designing costumes for
the Richard Strauss
ballet
Josephlegende.
In 1983, also for La
Scala, he designed
costumes for Joseph
Russillo's Lieb und
Leid, Donizetti's
opera Don
Pasquale, and
Maurice Bejart's
Dyonisos. Mr.
Bejart also
choreographed a
triptych dance in
honor of the launch of
the fragrance for men
Versace
l'Homme.
Mr. Versace's designs
for theatre, opera,
and ballet include
Bejart's La
Metamorphose des
Dieux, Bob
Wilson's staging of
Richard Strauss'
Salome for La
Scala, Bejart's Leda
and the Swan,
Bejart's "Ballet of the
XX Siecle," broadcast
throughout the world
from Leningrad as part
of The White Nights
of Dance, Souvenir de
Leningrad by
Bejart's new dance
company, and Chaka
Zulu, inspired by
Leopold Senghor's poem,
celebrating the
Bicentenary of the
French Revolution.
Additional costume
designs included the
San Francisco Opera's
production of Richard
Strauss'
Capriccio,
ballets by William
Forsythe which were
staged at the Statische
Buhnen in Frankfurt,
and for Elton John's
1992 world
tour.
In September, 1992, as
testimonial for the
Italian Trade
Commission, Mr. Versace
inaugurated the charity
gala Rock'N
Rule, the profits
of which were given to
the Amfar anti-AIDS
Association. In the
same year, Mr. Versace
was honored by New
York's Fashion
Institute of Technology
with a retrospective
show of his work
"Versace
Signatures."
In January, 1986, the
President of the
Italian Republic,
Francesco Cossiga,
conferred the
decoration of
"Commendatore della
Repubblica Italiana" on
him; and later that
same year he was
awarded the "Grande
Medaille de Vermeil de
la Ville de Paris," and
the "Maschera
D'Argento" prize for
his huge professional
contribution to the
theatre. In 1987, the
book Versace
Teatro was
published. A second
volume was published in
1992.
In February, 1993, the
Council of Fashion
Designers of America
presented Mr. Versace
with the much-coveted
CFDA award, and the
book South Beach
Stories was
published. In March,
1993, Maurice Bejart
staged the ballet
Sissi, the Anarchic
Empress at the
Sadler's Wells Theatre
in London, with Mr.
Versace's irreplaceable
costumes.
In 1994, Mr. Versace
launched two new
fragrances, and opened
the traveling
exhibition, Versace
Signatures at the
Kunstgewerbmuseum. The
exhibition includes a
section dedicated to
his "Home" line,
timeless fashion,
embroideries, prints,
leather, and theatre
costumes. |
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