L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 s h o w s e t o n t h e S p a n i s h Steps in Rome when their secretary called, screaming in terror, "Gianni was shot!" Forty-five minutes later, another phone call arrived, announcing Gianni's death. "In a state of shock, I could o n l y s a y : " G i a n n i i s n o t dead. Gianni is immortal." Brother and sister left immediately for Miami in a private jet with Emanuela Schmeidler, the Versace PR m a v e n w h o h a d w o r k e d closely with Gianni. Once in Miami, they saw the body. When Santo touched Gianni w i t h o n e h a n d , h e w a s s t u n n e d t o s e e t r a c e s o f blood remaining on his fin- gers. He was shaken as the FBI agents walked around the villa asking questions. Twenty-four hours later, t h e y w e n t t o F o r t L a u d - erdale for cremation. "I put the photos of my children and Donatella's children in t h e c r e m a t o r i u m n e x t t o him. I can't say why I did it," Santo writes. "Perhaps my unconscious thought of the funeral rites of the ancients, who conceived of death as a c o n t i n u a t i o n o f l i f e . T h e E g y p t i a n s p l a c e d i n t h e tombs what they considered useful for the dead in the a f t e r l i f e . I m u s t h a v e thought that gesture meant telling him: "You are not a l o n e . Y o u w i l l h a v e t h e company of your nieces and nephews who love you so much." The more the hours w e n t b y , t h e m o r e S a n t o experienced hallucinations. Santo broke inside for months and years, trying to understand the incompre- h e n s i b l e . " T h e r e a r e n o b u r n i n g r e v e l a t i o n s , " h e writes. "Gianni was targeted by a deranged criminal who chose him as a symbol of fame, success, and fortune." Santo compares his broth- er's killer to John Lennon's murderer, Mark Chapman. "A death like that of Gianni represents the sick face of celebrity culture, the desire to appear to exist, to consti- tute media material, even as a s s a s s i n s , " h e r e m a r k s , believing he will never know why Andrew Cunanan chose to kill his brother. Cunanan was "a small-time drug deal- er, prostitute, probably drug a d d i c t , c e r t a i n l y a p s y - chopath. A sleazy guy who lived a sleazy life, on the edge o f e v e r y t h i n g . " I n 1 9 9 7 , Cunanan went on a cross- country murder spree, killing four other men before mur- dering Gianni. A few days later, he took his life on a houseboat. S a n t o n e v e r w a n t e d t o read all the analyses crimi- nologists and journalists have dedicated to Gianni's death. "The ones I've read, I don't r e m e m b e r . N o n e o f t h e i r words could have consoled me then, and I won't be able to do so in the future." Gianni was born soon after WWII in 1946, in the town of Reggio Calabria, the toe of Italy, all dotted with Magna Graecia archeological sites. " W h e n y o u a r e b o r n i n a place such as Calabria, and there is beauty all around - a Roman bath, a Greek remain - y o u c a n n o t h e l p b u t b e influenced by the classical past," he once said. He was so o b s e s s e d w i t h G r e e k a n d Roman mythology that he wove those symbols into his a v a n t - g a r d e c o l l e c t i o n s a l o n g s i d e t h e t h e m e s o f today: celebrity, pop culture, rock music, street art and even bondage. His models wore black dresses adorned with golden studs, diamond buckles, belts and high heels. He pioneered Oroton fabric, p e r f e c t f o r p a r t y d r e s s e s made with panels of pliable m e t a l m e s h , a s p a r k l i n g chainmail that is now a red- c a r p e t c l a s s i c . H e d e c o n - structed volumes by cutting away fabrics as Picasso did break down his figures into geometric shapes. His signa- ture was a mix of opposites, as evident in the iconic black dress held together by sever- al oversized gold safety pins that L i z H u r l e y wore in 1994 at the premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, at t h e s q u e e z e o f h e r f i a n c é Hugh Grant. She went from obscurity to stardom thanks to that Versace dress. T h e V e r s a c e l o g o i s Medusa of waving tentacles, in Greek mythology, a mon- ster with a female face and snakes instead of hair. An ancient bas-relief of Medusa is on the entrance door to Palazzo Versace in Milan, at Via Gesù 12, where Gianni l i v e d a n d w o r k e d . " T h e Medusa was there before we arrived," reveals Santo. Gian- ni once said, partly joking: "When people look at Ver- sace fashion, they must feel terrified, petrified, just like when you look into the eyes of Medusa." A M e d u s a s t a t u e a l s o stood in the pool garden of Casa Casuarina. Gianni filled the Art Deco Miami villa with o p u l e n t a r t w o r k s a n d antiques and added the south wing made of small mosaic tiles. In 1992, while on vaca- tion in Miami Beach, Versace t o o k a w a l k d o w n O c e a n Drive and was immediately attracted to the house by a kneeling Aphrodite statue. He soon purchased the man- sion and completed the reno- vation in 1995. "Versace's vision," noted Vogue of Gianni Versace's Spring 1997 Paris fashion shows, "is a sky blue wrap- around dress of matte jer- sey." Gianni would knock on heaven's door in less than a month. D u r i n g t h o s e h e c t i c Parisian days of June, Gianni and his companion gracious- ly refused an invitation from Elton John, who wanted to host them in his French Riv- iera home. But Gianni was yearning for serenity and relaxation in his Miami villa. " W h o k n o w s , m a y b e a change of plans would have c h a n g e d h i s f a t e , " w r i t e s Santo. T h e i r m o t h e r , F r a n c a Olandese, worked as a dress- maker with 45 seamstresses in her atelier. Gianni once r e c a l l e d t h a t t h e c o u t u r e w o r k r o o m w a s h i s p l a y - ground as a child. "He fell in love with fashion in that riot of colors and rustling of fab- r i c s : m y b r o t h e r c r a w l e d among the laces while my mother stuck pins on her customers' fitting dresses," Santo recalls. Gianni never gained a high school diplo- ma. "He was a frail boy, how- ever vivacious, a free spirit, and very rebellious." He had other things on his mind I n 1 9 7 2 , h e l e f t R e g g i o Calabria for Milan, where he began designing collections for fashion industrialists. H e b e D o r s e y , t h e l a t e influential fashion editor of the International Herald Tri- bune, discovered Gianni in those years. She noticed his work at Pitti Uomo in Flo- r e n c e . I n t h e m e a n t i m e , Santo was a Reggio Calabria commercialist who also did bookkeeping for his younger brother. In 1976, Santo left his job in Reggio to join Gianni in Milan, and in 1978 the two founded the Gianni Versace company. Santo served as CEO, and their youngest sis- ter Donatella was a company designer. The first Versace fashion show occurred on March 28, 1978, at the Palaz- z o d e l l a P e r m a n e n t e i n Milan. Donatella, currently the iconic creative director of Versace, was born to be a blessing, two years after the death of Tinuccia, their old- est sister, who passed away at the age of 10. "Donatella w a s a m a g i c a l l i t t l e g i r l whom we adored right away. She would become the most p a m p e r e d l i t t l e s i s t e r , " writes Santo. Gianni made his will in September 1996, less than a year before his death, and left all his shares of the Gian- ni Versace to his favorite niece, Donatella's daughter A l l e g r a , w h o w a s e l e v e n w h e n G i a n n i w a s k i l l e d . "Gianni loved all his nieces and nephews, but Allegra had always been his princess, the center of his world, the m a g i c a l c h i l d , a b i t l i k e Donatella had been when we were little." Santo believes that Gian- ni's decision resulted from a moment of tension between them. As the oldest brother, sometimes Santo scolded his y o u n g e r s i b l i n g w h e n h e overspent alarmingly. But Gianni replied that money is m e a n t t o b e s p e n t . " W e would send ourselves to hell, and it ended there," recalls Santo. Today Santo, 78, is a cine- m a p r o d u c e r a n d p h i l a n - thropist who lives in Rome w i t h h i s s e c o n d w i f e , Francesca. She helped him heal from a trauma that was very visceral and very raw. "On Friday evening, I would e s c a p e f r o m M i l a n , g o t o Moltrasio, and close myself up in infinite sadness and silence. I was sleeping in G i a n n i ' s b e d , a l o n e , " h e writes. Gianni's ashes rest in the Moltrasio cemetery. The Moltrasio villa on Lake Como was "the place that had seen us together many times, so happy." Today, the Gianni Versace fashion house is part of the Capri Holdings group, a lux- ury hub that includes the brands Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo. Donatella is the creative director. "She keeps the brand flying high and does an excellent job. She is a star surrounded by stars," says Santo. "Versace excels on the red carpets of the Golden Globes and the Oscars," and still, "young p e o p l e w e a r V e r s a c e a n d dream Versace." B u t S a n t o m i s s e s h i s brother's genius, his smile, his inspiration, and above all, his affection. Gianni was a radiant, innovative, spectacular designer. Santo has always been the responsible older brother. In the 70s, he co-founded with Gianni the Haute Couture's most flamboyant fashion brand. September 3, Santo and his wife Francesca celebrating their wedding anniversary (Photo: Federico Caminiti)

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