Gianni Versace S.p.A. ( ), usually referred
to as Versace, is an Italian
fashion
label founded by Gianni Versace in
1978.
The first
Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978,
(though the Versace family are from Reggio Calabria
) and its popularity was immediate. Today,
Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses.
Versace designs, markets and distributes luxury clothing,
accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings under the
various brands of the Versace Group.
Gianni Versace was killed by
Andrew Cunanan on
July
15,
1997. His sister
Donatella Versace, formerly
vice-president, then stepped in as creative director of Versace and
his older brother
Santo Versace became
CEO. Donatellas daughter
Allegra Versace also owns 50 percent of the
company since 2004 as wished by Gianni in his last will. Allegra
also has the last say of the sale and other important details in
the Versace clothing line.
Versace's Style Department employs a group of designers and
stylists who work in teams. Each team is specifically dedicated to
each fashion line or label. These teams operate under the close
supervision and guidance of Donatella Versace.
Versace lines
There are several lines which make up
Versace
Group (pronounced "ver.sae.ce" or "versatche"). They are: Gianni
Versace Couture, Versace Jeans Couture, Versace Home Collection,
Versus and Versace Collection. In addition to clothing and
accessories, it also operates a hotel, the Palazzo Versace.
Gianni Versace Couture, which contains high-end, often handmade
apparel, jewelry, watches, fragrances, cosmetics and home
furnishings, is the House's main line. Traditionally, this is the
only line presented on the runway which is shown during Milan's
fashion week, but this has not been strictly the case in recent
years. Couture dresses in this line may cost about $10,000 and
suits cost approximately $5,000. Donatella Versace directly heads
this line and designs a vast amount of the items.
Versace Jeans Couture, a casual clothing line, focuses on informal
clothing and Lynsie Lorenz: high-end denim and classic Gianni
Versace print shirts. It is readily available and comparably
affordable. This line is distributed through 56 boutiques and
flagship stores, and 1800 multi-brand points of sale, including
Internet-based shops. Versace Sport comprises active wear and
accessories. The name is often printed on t-shirts.
Versace has taken the fashion industry by storm the last few years
with Donatella's independent, strong woman inspired collection, but
at the same time making it look sexy, fierce, and chic.
Versace going public
In May 2006, it was reported in WWD that Versace chief executive
Giancarlo Di Risio said Versace Group would consider an
IPO (initial public offering) on the stock market by
next year, ahead of a proposed schedule. This was due to a drop in
operating losses from £62m to £4m for 2005, based on sales for the
House during the prior 12 months.
Faces of Versace & celebrity culture
Versace has many fans among well-known celebrities.
Elton John has long been a wearer of Versace,
often featuring custom items covered in diamonds or
Swarovski crystal. Other notables fans of the
Versace fashion house are
Elizabeth
Hurley,
Axl Rose,
Beyonce and the late
Princess Diana, who was offered, but
declined, £1,000,000 to appear on the catwalk in Versace to
celebrate her divorce from Prince Charles. Many rappers have been
known to name drop Versace quite often, e.g.
Tupac Shakur &
The Notorious B.I.G. Also Lady Gaga is a
very well known fashion icon who has been quoted saying that she
incorporates Versace into everything she does.
Jennifer Lopez is known to wear
Versace in many of her red carpet fashions. Many of the dresses
that Lopez has worn have brought much publicity to the fashion
house. Lopez wore the Jungle-Dress at the 2000
Grammys, which became famous for its plunging
neckline.
Versace is unique among Italian fashion houses due to its frequent
use of a celebrity "face" for the House in advertisements. The
contract provides for the use of the celebrity's image, and in
return, the celebrity is paid both monetarily and with free Versace
clothing. Madonna, for example, was paid $10.5m and given free
Versace clothes for 2 years for her contribution to Versace
advertising campaign in 2005.
Some of the celebrities that have been the face "for Versace" are
Madonna (1995 and 2005),
Ashton Kutcher (known from Punk'd),
Ian Somerhalder (known from LOST),
Kevin Richardson (former member of
The Backstreet Boys),
Demi Moore,
Britney Spears, and
Christina Aguilera. During the summer of
2003,
The Corrs--who were then recording
and promoting their fourth studio album—signed a contract to become
the face of Versace for 5 years,
Milla
Jovovich for ad campaigns and
Halle
Berry was the face of Versace for Spring/Summer 2006.
Versace used the models
Carolyn
Murphy,
Angela Lindvall,
Daria Werbowy,
Miriam Escott IV,
Christy Turlington,
Gisele Bündchen and
Kate Moss to front the Fall/Winter 2006/7
campaign, and used actor
Jonathan
Rhys Meyers as the face for the men's campaign. The 2008
Spring/Summer campaign featured
Grey's
Anatomy star
Patrick Dempsey as
the face of its men's line and
Gisele
Bundchen for the women's line. The line has also used models
like
Isabeli Fontana,
Maryna Linchuk,
Natalia Vodianova, and
Catherine McNeil.
Versace Boutiques
There are currently 81 boutique in the world
North America
Boutiques
were previously operated in Montreal
, San
Francisco
, Boston
, Orlando
, Chicago
, Chevy
Chase
, Philadelphia
, and Maui
, among
others, but have since been closed. Versace also features
123 retail areas in a variety of luxury multi-designer department
stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf
Goodman
, Bloomingdales, and
Saks Fifth Avenue.
The larger part of their stores are located in South America,
Europe, Middle East, Asia, and Australia.
South America
Europe
Middle East
Asia
Australia
Versace
headquarters is in Milan
.
There is a Versace Hotel and Spa called the Palazzo Versace.
There are
in Gold Coast, Australia and
Dubai
which will open in 2010.
Versace Precious Items
Gianni Versace and Frank Muller launched the first Versace watch
collection line in 1994. The name of the first collection was
Atelier and soon became a must among fashionistas and Versace brand
lovers.
Since then, the collection of Versace timepieces has evolved and
the range of products of the Medusa fashion brand has greatly been
expanded.
Versace watches line is produced under license agreement in
Switzerland.
Timex Group
bought the license in 2005 but the Versace watch line is still
produced and operated from Switzerland by Vertime SA.
Since the discontinuation of the Atelier collection a new line from
the Italian fashion house, Versace Precious Items evolved. The
collection includes watches, fine jewelry, and writing
instruments.
Lamborghini MurcielagoVersace had agreed to make the first ever
designer car in the world in the make of a white Lamborghini
Murcielago all white exterior and interior with all black
rims.
In 1984, the Ford Motor Company offered the Versace edition Lincoln
Mark VII. It continued into 1985 but was discontinued after
that.
References
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