Fashion career profile
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace (1946–1997) was an Italian designer born in Reggio Calabria, where he learned garment making in his mother’s atelier. He moved to Milan in 1972 and undertook design work for Italian labels including Callaghan, Luisa di Firenze, Les Copains and Byblos. In 1978 he founded the Versace house with his brother Santo, presenting its first womenswear collection in Milan; menswear followed in 1979. Versace combined technical construction with saturated color, historical references and an energetic approach to print. His practice crossed fashion, theatre and interiors, while close collaborations with photographers, musicians and models helped make the house’s image part of popular culture. He developed a distinctive visual language that treated glamour and provocation as compatible design tools. After Versace was murdered in Miami in 1997, his sister Donatella succeeded him in the house’s creative leadership. His founder role and the later leadership of the family-owned company are separate chapters.
- Role
- Founder, Versace
- Nationality
- Italian
- Age at death
- 50
- Career appointments
- 1
- Fashion houses
- 1
- Dontella Versace Is Launching a New BrandHypebeast Fashion · 2026-09-21
- Paris honours Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, 80 years after his birthFashionNetwork · 2026-06-05
- Early design work: Design consultancy for Callaghan, Luisa di Firenze, Les Copains and Byblos in the early 1970sTreccani identifies these clients but does not give reliable start and end dates for each, so they are not entered as separate dated positions. · Treccani
- First Versace womenswear: Presented in Milan in 1978This was the first collection under the house name and the start of his founder-led fashion business. · Italian National Chamber of Fashion
- Menswear debut: First menswear collection in 1979The menswear line followed the first womenswear collection by one year. · Italian National Chamber of Fashion
- Beyond the runway: Worked across fashion, theatre, photography and interiorsThe Met’s retrospective surveys his work across media while keeping clothing at the center of his practice. · The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Creative succession: Donatella Versace succeeded Gianni after his death in 1997This distinguishes the founder’s career from the house’s subsequent creative leadership. · Versace
- 1972 — Moves to Milan for fashion workBegins design consultancy for several Italian labels before founding his own house.
- 1978 — Presents the first Versace womenswear collectionThe Milan presentation begins the namesake house’s runway history.
- 1979 — Presents the first menswear collectionThe house expands into menswear one year after the womenswear debut.
- 1997 — Founder tenure endsGianni Versace is murdered in Miami; Donatella succeeds him in the house’s creative leadership.
- 1978–1997 — Founder and Creative Director — VersaceHistorical appointment · Versace