L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS S a n t o V e r s a c e enters the Milan c a t h e d r a l i n silence. It is July 22, 1997, the day of his brother's funeral, the fashion guru Gianni Ver- sace. The mass is at 6:00 p.m. "Donatella clings to my arm; the veil covers her gaze. I try to be strong. I encour- age her to stay strong. Many people surround us, but we feel deeply alone." These words are from an intimate memoir by Santo Versace: Fratelli. Una Famiglia Italiana, just released in Italy by Rizzoli publishing house. The book is a gentle meditation about the chaotic nature of trauma – the shock of an unexpected, unnatural, heartbreaking loss. It marks t h e 2 5 t h a n n i v e r s a r y o f Gianni's violent death. A spree killer murdered Mr. Versace on the steps of his M i a m i m a n s i o n , C a s a Casuarina, on July 15, 1997. Gianni was returning home after a morning walk. "That day, a part of me also died," Santo writes. G i a n n i w a s a r a d i a n t , i n n o v a t i v e , s p e c t a c u l a r designer when they deprived him of life. He was 50 and at t h e p e a k o f s u c c e s s a n d fame. His empire was worth eight hundred million dol- lars. Santo has always been the responsible older brother. In the 70s, he co-founded with Gianni the Haute couture's most flamboyant fashion brand. Gianni and Santo w e r e t w o o p p o s i t e s t h a t complemented each other. With a degree in economics, the latter oversaw the com- pany's financial activities and kept the organization prosperous. He was the fam- ily glue "and a bit like Mr. Wolf from Pulp Fiction, the o n e i n c h a r g e o f s o l v i n g problems," he writes. He always encouraged Gianni's and then Donatella's pro- jects. T h e r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h Gianni was profound. Santo recounts their childhood and his brother's creative genius. "The one who hesitates is lost," Gianni famously said. "There are no taboos in my work. I intend to own fash- ion, skin it alive, extract its soul." His style was unortho- dox and ultra-glam. He had a m o d e r n i t y n o b o d y h a d seen before. His flashy, wild, provocative clothes defied convention. The novelty he represented in the fashion world was also related to his connection to the rock music scene. His detractors derided his work as vulgar, but Gian- ni looks now to have been way ahead of its time. He w a s f r i e n d s w i t h E l t o n J o h n , P r i n c e , G e o r g e Michael, Madonna, Jon Continued to page 6 Brothers: a memoir and a love letter to Gianni Versace Santo e Gianni in Berlin, 1994 (Photo courtesy of Santo Versace) MARIELLA RADAELLI Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, Sting, and Springsteen, and some also posed for his aid campaigns. He hosted parties for them in his fabu- lous homes on Lake Como, in Milan, Miami Beach, and Manhattan. But his closest friend was Princess Diana, who made Versace an essen- tial part of her sleek 90s look a f t e r h e r d i v o r c e f r o m Charles. "For Gianni, dress- ing the most photographed woman on the planet meant having conquered the holy grail of fame," writes Santo. From her part, "Lady Diana c e l e b r a t e d t h e b e a u t y o f Gianni's creations signaling her newfound freedom to the world." Six weeks after Gianni's d e a t h , s h e w o u l d a l s o b e gone, "that hellish summer, in which a world crumbled, not just ours." Santo cannot forget an image from the funeral litur- gy: "Elton John's heartbro- ken face. To her right, Lady Diana was stroking his arm to comfort him with mater- nal tenderness." I remember that live tv footage of a beau- tiful, bereft Princess Diana n e x t t o a w e e p i n g E l t o n John. Versace was the first to fully recognize the potential of supermodels to become significant players in the fashion industry. He "invent- ed" them. Naomi Camp- bell was his favorite girl. Other loyal top models were C l a u d i a S c h i f f e r , C i n d y Crawford, Carla Bruni, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turling- ton, and Kate Moss. "They weren't just mannequins; they were muses, stars that made our brand shine even more. Gianni knew it and spoiled them a lot." Santo and Donatella were getting ready for a tv fashion

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