About This Quiz
The Versace label has been marked by extravagance and excess, tempered with the tragedy of Gianni Versace's murder and the major changes that came with it. Take our quiz to test your knowledge of Versace — the life and the label.Versace's Italian heritage would loom large in his design. The budding artist was born in Reggio di Calabria, Italy, on Dec. 2, 1946.
The young Versace's mom was a dressmaker, and Gianni joined the family business at a young age.
Versace moved to Milan in 1972 to do freelance design work and finally launched his own collection in 1978.
Advertisement
Though the designer would later create clothes for both sexes, his first collection included women's wear only and was released under the name "Gianni Versace Donna."
Versace's designs often incorporated Oroton, a fluid chain-mail fabric that Gianni designed himself.
Versace chose Medusa, a woman who was so alluring that a jealous rival turned her into a monster, as his logo.
Advertisement
Gianni gave little sister Donatella her own line in the '80s. It was called Versus and was intended for a young, hip female audience.
Hurley's safety pin dress transformed the unknown model into a superstar in 1994.
Hurley was unable to afford a fancy dress for herself. Boyfriend Hugh Grant's staff had a single dress lying around, so Hurley wore it. It just happened to become one of the most famous red carpet dresses of all time.
Advertisement
The company made a respectable $11 million during its first year. Just under 20 years later, the company was making more than a billion dollars annually.
Versace was shot outside of his Miami mansion on July 15, 1997.
Spree killer Andrew Cunanan killed Versace, but police found no evidence that the two men ever met.
Advertisement
Donatella's daughter, Allegra, inherited 50 percent of Versace when her uncle was murdered. She was just 11 years old at the time.
Donatella Versace became the creative director of the company after her losing her brother. She had performed this role in a less official capacity for many years prior.
Lopez wore a cut-down-to-there green Versace dress at the 2000 Grammy Awards. Donatella was so thrilled with the public's reaction that she gifted Lopez the dress, which had originally been just a loan.
Advertisement
Both Geri Haliwell and Donatella herself donned that famous gown, but neither made the same splash as J-Lo.
You can thank Versace every time you use Google Image Search. The image search feature was added specifically because of the number of web surfers looking for pictures of the famous frock.
The Versace Signature fragrance came out in 1991.
Advertisement
Exactly 10 years after Versace launched its signature male fragrance, the company released Versace Woman in February 2001.
Versace bucked runway trends when he decided to only use top models in his 1991 shows.
Versace bought the modest Miami mansion for $2.95 million in 1992 and spent another $3.7 million to buy the adjoining property so he could build a luxury compound.
Advertisement
A group of investors, which included the owner of Jordache jeans, picked up Versace's mansion for $41.5 million in 2013 — more than 10 times what he paid for the original property.
Gianni Versace penned several books, including "Men Without Ties" and "The Art of Being You."
Elton John and Versace were close friends, and Versace even designed the entire wardrobe for John's 1992 tour and album cover.
Advertisement
Released in 1989, Versace named its first venture into haute couture "Atelier."
Starting as early as 1982, Versace designed costumes for theater, ballet and other stage productions.
Versace described his sister Donatella as his muse and the perfect woman.
Advertisement
The Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Versace their inaugural American Fashion Oscar in 1993.
Donatella's Versus creations first traveled down the runway in 1995. She hired fresh new designers to help revive the Versus brand in the 21st century.
Versace's longtime partner Antonio D'Amico was a designer for Versace Sport. Versace willed him a lifelong pension and allowed D'Amico access to all of his properties after Versace's death.
Advertisement