Reeling Back The Years – History Of Fashion House Versace

Gianni Versace founded the Versace label in 1978. Vogue editor Anna Wintour credited him with recognising "the value of the celebrity in the front row, the value of the supermodel, and putting fashion on an international media platform". The label soon gained a celebrity following with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson wearing Versace in the video for Say, Say, Say in 1983 and in 1985, Sean Penn wore a Versace suit to marry Madonna. Gianni was awarded the Council of Fashion Designer Award (CFDA) in 1993. That same year, Claudia Schiffer was pictured on the cover of Vogue wearing Versace Atelier and in 1994, Liz Hurley wore THAT safety pin dress to the London premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral. At the age of 50, Gianni was murdered on the steps of his South Beach Home in 1997 by Andrew Cunanan. His sister Donatella had her first solo show the following year and in 1999 designer Marco Zanini, previously at Rochas, joined the company. Jennifer Lopez wore a jungle print Versace dress to the Grammys in 2000 which Vogue later called a “symbol of the power play between fashion, sex, and celebrity.” That same year, a host of celebrities including Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Faith Hill, Heather Graham, Lucy Liu, and Toni Collette wore Versace to the Oscars. Versace Collezione, a menswear line, launched in 2005 for spring 2006, Versace Sport was introduced in 2006 and the following year both Gianni and Donatella were inducted into the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style. 2008 saw Sarah Jessica Parker wear Versace for the final episode of Sex and the City and this same year she was pictured in Versace for Vogue. House of Versace, The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival was published in 2010. The Versace Atelier show at this year's Paris Haute Couture Week was a highlight of this particular fashion week.