Versace murder 25 years ago: The tragic end of a fashion prince

AWhen Gianni Versace returns to his villa “Casa Casuarina” on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach on July 15, 1997 after a morning walk, his murderer is already waiting there. He kills the 50-year-old designer with two pistol bullets. “My brother’s dark blood was still everywhere on the front steps,” says his sister Donatella Versace in an interview with WELT in 2018 about the day that changed her life. And so, exactly 25 years ago, a life that had set new standards even for the eccentric world of fashion ended in a tragic way.

The perpetrator is quickly identified: Andrew Cunanan, a 27-year-old serial killer who is on an FBI list of the ten most wanted criminals. He is charged with four more murders. Gianni Versace is at the peak of his fame at this point. He has created a fashion empire out of nothing within two decades, revels in glamor and luxury.

Born on December 2nd, 1946 in Reggio Calabria, his passion for fashion blossomed early on in his mother’s tailoring workshop. In 1972 he moved to Milan, initially worked for various labels, and finally made his own name a brand in 1978. Gianni Versace is in the right place at the right time. In the 1980s, Milan developed into a fashion metropolis, breaking the dominance of Paris. Supported by the powerful Italian textile industry, a new generation of designers is causing a sensation.

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Two names in particular are on everyone’s lips: Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace. The greatest possible contrast that fashion can offer. Here: an androgynous look in beige and grey. There: an opulent sensuality increased to the point of excess. Or as Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of US Vogue, once described it: “Armani designs for the wife, Versace for the lover”.

Gianni Versace himself describes his mission statement in 1992 in “SZ Magazin”: “I want women with breasts and buttocks. The roles should be fixed: a man is a man, a woman is a woman.” The brightest colours, the brightest patterns, the most precious fabrics on the most beautiful women and the most chiseled men: in Gianni Versace’s fashion, the superlative becomes the norm.

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Its boutiques resemble Roman temples. He turns models into supermodels. Celebrities like Elton John, Sylvester Stallone and Princess Diana form his circle of friends. The designer doesn’t live, he resides: in palazzi of imperial splendor, filled with exquisite art. A lifestyle that stimulates the imagination.

The New York Times once called him “Lorenzo De Versace”. A reference to Lorenzo de’ Medici, called: the magnificent. At Gianni’s side: the siblings Donatella and Santo Versace. She is his closest creative confidant, often referred to as a muse. He takes care of the business needs of the family company. On July 15, 1997, her world collapsed. Why Andrew Cunanan killed the designer is unclear. There is still wild speculation. Cunanan himself committed suicide eight days after the crime.

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After Gianni’s death, Donatella Versace takes over the role of creative director – and faces a mammoth task. “The whole world was looking at me, and 99 percent of people thought I couldn’t pull it off. And maybe that’s what I thought at first too,” she confessed to the British in 2017 „Guardian“ on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of her brother’s death.

Failure does come. And the public enjoys it. Her drug problems, the cosmetic surgeries, her daughter Allegra’s anorexia. Many collections are panned by the critics. But Donatella Versace withstands it, frees herself from all misery over time and develops the label step by step. Eventually she even becomes one of the front women of a feminism celebrated on the catwalks. In a “FAZ” portrait, she said three years ago: “Now is the time to fight for women.”

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Feminism, fashion and the future of Versace:

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Versace sister Donatella – – – – –

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