Gianni Versace became one of the most famous fashion designers in the world within 15 years of launching his first collection — but his rise was cut short when he was murdered by Andrew Cunanan in 1997.
colaimages / Alamy Stock PhotoGianni Versace with actress Jane Fonda in 1989.
Gianni Versace changed fashion. His designs were bright, colorful, sensual, and full of life. So it came as a terrible shock in 1997 when Versace’s own life was cut short by a murderer.
Until that point, the Italian-born fashion designer had had an incredible rise. Versace was born into humble circumstances, and his interest in fashion began while he watched his mother, a dressmaker, at work. As an adult, his designs soon made their way onto runways and into the closets of celebrities.
But the story of Versace’s life will always be intertwined with that of Andrew Cunanan, a 27-year-old serial killer who had murdered four men by the time he made his way to Versace’s home in Miami Beach in 1997.
This is the story of Gianni Versace’s life, murder, and legacy.
Gianni Versace’s Rise In The Fashion World
Born on Dec. 2, 1946, in Reggio Calabria, Italy, to a poor family, Gianni Versace was fascinated by fashion from a young age. He grew up watching his mother creating clothing for her boutique, and he made his first dress at the age of nine.
Versace spent his time daydreaming of movie stars and evening gowns, and he got in trouble with a teacher in fifth grade for sketching in class.
“My professor called my mother and said, ‘Your son is a sex maniac,'” Versace recounted in 1986, according to PEOPLE. “My mother said, ‘Professor, my son is not a maniac. He just loves fashion and clothes.'”
After high school, Versace spent years working for his mother. But he made his way to Milan in 1972, where he found work with several Italian fashion industrialists. In 1978, Versace started his own fashion house: Versace.
Angelo Deligio/Mondadori via Getty Images
Gianni Versace posing with his designs in 1985.
Some of Versace’s designs — loud, colorful, sexual — were denounced by his critics as vulgar and cartoonish. But they seemed to strike a larger cultural chord. Before long, Versace was dressing celebrities like Elizabeth Hurley, supermodels like Naomi Campbell, and pop stars like Madonna.
“He was the first to realize the value of the celebrity in the front row, and the value of the supermodel, and put fashion on an international media platform,” Anna Wintour, the longtime editor of Vogue and a friend of the designer, told The New York Times in 1997. “He relished media attention and masterminded it, and everybody followed in his footsteps.”
By 1997, Gianni Versace — fresh off introducing a new couture collection in Paris — was living in Miami Beach, Florida, with his partner, Antonio D’Amico. There, he became the fifth and final victim of serial killer Andrew Cunanan.
Gianni Versace’s Murder At The Hands Of Andrew Cunanan
Public DomainPhotos of Andrew Cunanan collected by the FBI.
The morning of July 15, 1997, started like any other. Gianni Versace woke up around 6 a.m. to get some work done and to make a few calls to Milan. Then, the fashion designer decided to walk to News Café, just three blocks away, to pick up a coffee and a copy of Vogue and The New Yorker.
Versace was on the steps of his home, Casa Casuarina, at 1116 Ocean Drive, when he was approached by 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan. By that point, Cunanan was already on the run from the law after killing four men.
Cunanan’s murder spree had started in April 1997 when he killed his friend Jeffrey Trail. Cunanan then killed his ex-boyfriend, David Madson, real estate developer Lee Miglin, and cemetery caretaker William Reese. His motives for the first three murders struck investigators as personal, but Cunanan seemingly killed Reese simply to steal his car.
He then made his way from New Jersey to Florida — and to Versace’s mansion. Shortly before 9 a.m., Cunanan walked up behind Versace as the fashion designer mounted the steps to Casa Casuarina. Investigators aren’t sure to this day if Cunanan had met Versace before — some people believe that they’d met a handful of times in San Francisco — or why Cunanan targeted him. But the result was the same.
Before Versace could react, Cunanan shot him twice in the head. Then, he left the fashion designer to bleed out on the steps of his mansion.
Georges De Keerle/Getty ImagesThe site of Gianni Versace’s murder shortly after he was shot and killed by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in July 1997.
Though he was raced to the hospital, Gianni Versace was pronounced dead at 9:15 a.m. He was 50 years old.
It didn’t take long for investigators to connect Cunanan to the crime. But it did take them eight days to track him down. And by then, it was too late to get any answers — Cunanan died by suicide on a houseboat nearby.
Gianni Versace’s murder stunned the fashion world and left his company in shambles. But though the pain of his death has never diminished, his legacy as a designer has only grown stronger.
The Italian Fashion Designer’s Loud And Colorful Legacy
Gianni Versace’s funeral was held in Milan a week after his death on July 22, 1997. It drew a crowd of 2,000 people that included many of his famous friends, like Naomi Campbell, Elton John, and Princess Diana, and fellow designers Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld. The mourners also included his brother Santo, his sister Donatella, and his partner, D’Amico.
Gerard Julien/AFP via Getty ImagesPrincess Diana and Sting were among the many famous faces seen at Gianni Versace’s funeral on July 22, 1997.
After his death, Versace’s fashion house fell into Donatella’s care. She oversaw the first Versace show after his death that October, which included a profound tribute to the murdered designer. “This show is dedicated to our brother Gianni’s love of work and to our entire staff, whose incredible love and devotion was so precious to our brother and means so much to us,” the tribute message read. “We thank each and every one of them.”
Still, the loss of Versace’s vision at the show was clear. Even Donatella acknowledged this, telling journalists before the show: “Gianni is irreplaceable. I would like to be judged for what I am doing, not compared to him. If you compare me to him, I can only fall short.”
Though the Versace fashion line struggled in the years after Versace’s death, it slowly but surely regained its footing. The year 2017 was lauded as “the year of Versace” by some fashion journalists, and the company has collaborated with celebrities like Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa in recent years.
But Gianni Versace continues to cast a large shadow over the world of fashion. Not only did his designs brighten runways and red carpets across the world, but the shock of his murder continues to reverberate. It was even featured in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story in 2018. (The Versace family denounced the show.)
Versace, however, was always a forward-looking person. Though inspired by the natural and ancient beauty of Italian cities, he often spoke of his desire to leave the past behind and move forward.
“You have to break a barrier every day,” he once said. “Fashion, to me, is born and dies every day.”
After reading about the life and death of Gianni Versace, discover the story of Ann Lowe, the overlooked fashion designer who created Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress. Or, take a step back in time with this gallery of 1990s fashion trends.
