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Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace, the Prince of Fashion, his life was cut short during his
prime. His designs are innovative, almost risque, the genius behind them
apparent.
GIANNI VERSACE - A SHORT BIOGRAPHY
1946 Gianni Versace was born in Reggio Calabria on December 2.
1972 At the age of 25 he decides to move to Milan and works as a fashion
designer, drawing his first pret-a-porter collections for Genny, Complice
and Callaghan.
1975 He presents his first leather collection, created for Complice.
1978 On March 28 he presensts his first collection for Women signed with
his own name in a fashion show at the Palazzo della Permanente, in Milan.
1979 Versace, who has always paid great attention to his image, starts a
fortunate collaboration with the American photographer Richard Avedon.
1982 Versace wins the first of a series of awards that will crown his
career: "L'Occhio d'Oro" for the best fashion designer of the 1982/83
Fall/Winter collection for women; in this collection he displays the famous
metal garments, now a classic feature of his fashion. The same year, he
begins a collaboration with the Teatro alla Scala and designs costumes for
the Richard Strauss' ballet "Josephlegende"; the stage design is by the
painter Luigi Veronesi.
1983 He creates the costumes for Gustav Mahler's ballet "Lieb und Leid" and
on October 21, with the Comune di Milano's patronage, the show. "E' Design"
opens its doors at the Padiglione di Arte Contemporanea where Gianni
Versace displays a synthesis of his technological research.
1984 Versace creates the costumes for Donizetti's "Don Pasquale" and for
the ballet "Dyonisos" directed by Maurice Bejart, both held at the Teatro
alla Scala. In October, at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano, the Belgian
choreographer creates a triptych danse in honour of the launch of the
fragrance for men "Versace l'Homme".
1985 In Paris, on the occasion of the European presentation of the same
fragrance, a contemporary art show is organized, bringing together the
works of internationally renowned artists concerning Versace's fashion.
Young people have always been a major source of inspiration for Versace and
on October 2, the fashion designer is at the Victoria & Albert Museum in
London to give a talk on his fashion for a large group of students, and to
illustrate the show "Arte e moda".
1986 A year in which awards and shows intertwine. On January 24, the
President of the Italian Republic Francesco Cossiga confers the decoration
of "Commendatore della Repubblica Italiana" on him; the National Field
Museum in Chicago presents a major retrospective show on the work of
Versace in the last ten years. On October 22, in Paris, during the show
"Gianni Versace: Obiettivo Moda", illustrating the professional
collaboration between Versace and internationally renowned photographers
(Avedon, Newton, Penn, Weber, Barbieri, Gastel, etc.), Jacques Chirac
assigns the "Grande Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville |