A Star Among Stars, Versace’s Creations Showed His Joy

Tina Turner commanded the stage of the Greek Theatre in May, sparkling in a celestial silver slip dress.

It so perfectly embodied Turner’s joyous performance, her timeless sensuality and the fun and flash of pop, that I remember thinking, “If Versace stumbles in his next five collections, at least he gave the world that dress.”

Gianni Versace, 50, who clothed rock and movie stars until his violent death in Miami on Tuesday, was a star himself. He was a handsome, charismatic charmer who brought sex and glamour to high fashion and helped make Milan a more important style capital than Paris.

When he first rose to prominence in the ‘80s, he brought a savvy understanding of marketing’s power. He undoubtedly enjoyed living like a prince, in four opulent homes filled with antiques and art, but he also never missed an opportunity to have those spectacular homes photographed.

If the Versace residences in New York City, Milan and Lake Como in Italy and Miami reeked of abundance, taste and privilege, it was partly because the commercial value of his highly publicized lifestyle could not be estimated.

He didn’t just design for rock stars, getting them out of their torn jeans and into glittering creations as loud as their music. He socialized with them. Reports were carefully leaked to the press of Bruce Springsteen, Elton John and Sting relaxing at Lake Como with Gianni and his sister, Donatella, and brother-in-law, Paul Beck, an American former model. John was a close friend and something of a Versace court composer, occasionally contributing original runway music and performing at private parties.

Long after other designers soured on the questionable value of celebrity affiliations, Versace insisted that the front rows at his shows be studded with famous faces. The celebrities brought the paparazzi, he knew, and kept his profile high.

In his view, that paid off. Why would anyone buy party clothes from a monk?

Fashion is as global as the entertainment world, a fact Versace cleverly exploited. He courted the Tokyo schoolgirl as ardently as the Manhattan matron. She might not buy a clingy, chartreuse silk mermaid gown, but she could smell of Blonde, the Versace scent named for platinum-haired Donatella.

No one stays in business built on hype alone. As striking as the Versace advertisements were, photographed for 20 years by Richard Avedon; as ubiquitous as the photos of Madonna, Courtney Love, Elizabeth Hurley and Princess Di wearing his designs were, the Versace empire depended on his talent.

There was both consistency and variety in the designer’s work. Punk safety pins regularly appeared, as did lace details, leather and neon colors. But when style swerved to the conservative two years ago, resurrecting Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy as icons, Versace was in step, producing elegant clothes that still carried his trademark eroticism.

There was the expectation that the fashion equivalent of soft-core porn would be part of any Versace collection, but now and then he slyly substituted pretty and adorable (especially in his less expensive lines, Istante and Versus, aimed at a younger market).

He often attracted attention with designs that seemed more Vegas than Milan. He found vulgarity amusing, and in his hands, it was.

His sometime rival, Giorgio Armani, designed Richard Gere’s wardrobe for the film “American Gigolo.” But Versace’s runways were populated by bad boys out for good times, their pumped chests bare, their boldly colored trousers tight. He was ahead of his time in presenting men as sex objects. Many dismissed the Versace men as Italian playboys, the style as theatrical and frivolous. Then a slew of other designers caught on and caught up.

Not for Versace the underfed, underage models, skins paled and eyes sunken with sooty shadow. He corralled the tallest, most famous beauties for his shows, then let them reach full goddess potential. At a fashion show, the models’ hair and makeup usually telegraph blatant clues to anyone unclear about a designer’s belief system.

His good-time girls looked as if they teased and fluffed up their touchable tresses after enjoying a tussle in bed. Their eyes sparkled, their cheekbones glimmered with a healthy afterglow. Life was for living, con brio. His work said it as clearly as his persona. That spirit as well as the fact that he recently won a battle with a rare form of cancer makes Versace’s murder even more tragic.

In person, Versace was soft-spoken, not shy but hardly as brash as one might expect. Although he was on air-kissing basis with most of the world’s major stars, at lunch less than a year ago in Milan, Versace talked about his best friends. “My dogs,” he said. “An Irish setter and a golden retriever. My favorite thing is to be with them in Lake Como.”

* VERSACE VILLA

The designer helped bring Miami’s South Beach back to life. E4