It’s the best line in old bad movies: it’s from ‘Showgirls’, that old rag by Paul Verhoeven:
Zack Carey: Nice dress.
Nomi Malone: Thanks. It’s a Ver-sayce.
Zack: It’s “Versace”.
Nomi: What?
Zack: It’s Versace. It’s pronounced “Versace”.
Nomi: Oh.
Zack: You have great taste and you look beautiful.
AS IF!
It’s been 13 years since Gianni Versace – arguably the maestro of high kitsch or fabulous designer gear, take your pick – died on the steps of his Miami base, a killing attributed to Andrew Cunanan on July 15, 1997. The designer had just come back from a morning walk. His killer then commited suicide with the same gun some days later. The 50-year-old designer was then cremated – his ashes sent to the family estate in Italy. Half of his fashion empire – which spanned fragrances and a panoply of all things desirable – went to his niece Allegra, Donatella’s daughter, who inherited it at the age of 18 in 2004.
There was a movie made about all this: in 1998, Franco Nero (husband of Vanessa Redgrave no less) played the designer in a small film called ‘The Versace Murder’. There was also a TV movie about the same topic called ‘Fashion Victim’. *Groan*
Now, a new book says it was the Mafia who took the designer’s life because Versace was helping them launder moolah and things went wrong.
The Versace family are saying this is all nonsense, but the Rome-based anti-Mafia authority Giancarlo Capaldo says they have a file on what an informer has said. And this guy has a great record for factual information, which is what you want from an informer, anyway.
So, is the shocking death of one of fashion’s greatest designers linked to the deep, dark underworld of Italy?
What is the name of the book and when is it available to buy?