Gianni Versace, Fashion Designer from Reggio Calabria

Bold colors and patterns, opulent fabrics, elegant craftsmanship, glamor and gold, Versace is iconic, a distinctly Italian luxury brand. Creator Gianni Versace chose the head of Medusa as his emblem, hearkening back to antiquity and his roots in Reggio Calabria, a city steeped in legend and history, one of the first Greek colonies of Southern Italy.

GIANNI VERSACE FROM REGGIO CALABRIA

The renowned fashion designer was born Giovanni Maria Versace in Reggio Calabria in 1946. His mother was a skillful dressmaker with a highly regarded shop that employed as many as fifteen seamstresses; thus, Versace came in contact with fashion quite young. In his book Fratelli (Brothers), his older brother Santo reminisces of the time their mother was summoned by the nuns of his kindergarten, alarmed by little Gianni’s detailed pictures of voluptuous Italian movie stars of the day. His mother placated the sisters by pointing out that his drawings were executed with varying numbers of small squares in proportion to bust size. This scientific rendering of body measurement was clearly a budding stylist in his formative years!

Gianni Versace attended the classic high school but abandoned his formal academic studies in favor of fashion. He worked in his mother’s shop, and at age 25, moved to Milan, starting out as a dress designer for others, and a few years later presented his first signature collection. He founded the Gianni Versace brand in 1978, quickly expanding to include accessories, jewelry, perfume and home furnishings, with boutiques throughout the world.

Family ties remained strong throughout his life, with his brother Santo and sister Donatella, holding key positions in the company from the start. His sister took the helm in 1997 at Gianni’s untimely death.

VERSACE EXHIBITION IN REGGIO CALABRIA

The archeological museum in Reggio Calabria recently inaugurated an exhibition dedicated to Versace entitled Gianni Versace. Terra Mater – Magna Græcia Roots Tribute. (As the use of English is popular in Italy, to the confusion of many, the title should be clearer to an English speaker than an Italian.) The display explores the connection between the master couturier and the cultural roots of his homeland, linking fashion, archaeology, and Mediterranean identity, to bring the symbolic power of Greater Greece and its influence on Versace’s imagination to the fore.

Over 400 pieces are presented, from buttons to home furnishings, together with archeological objects from ancient times through the Byzantine, from Calabria and nearby regions.

Fabrizio Sudano, director of the museum and one of the exhibition’s curators described the project as “a symbolic bridge between the ancient and the contemporary,” bringing together the Riace Bronzes and other figurative images of Greater Greece with Versace’s imagination, that of “a fashion designer who has been able to transform such references into an aesthetic language recognized throughout the world,” and demonstrating that “classicism is not an immovable heritage, but rather an inexhaustible reserve that continues to inspire art and contemporary creativity.”

VERSACE’S MEDUSA

“Medusa made people fall in love with her and they had no way back.
I hoped my clothes would have the same effect.”
Gianni Versace

Medusa is a powerful symbol, born in ancient Greek mythology. She began as a terrifying gorgon, scaring away evil and turning those who crossed her gaze into stone. Over time, she morphed into a more human, tragic creature, a beautiful woman turned into a monster, often depicted with living snakes for hair.

The complex image of mysterious and dangerous beauty became the Versace logo that “represents seduction, strength, and timeless beauty – a myth turned into a modern icon,” as encapsulated in the exhibition materials.

WHO CAN WEAR VERSACE?

“My fashion is liberating. I don’t impose anything. I offer choices.”
Gianni Versace

Almost thirty years after Gianni Versace was assassinated by a serial killer in front of his Miami mansion, Versace is still a household name, not in the sense that everyone can afford to dress in his exclusive clothing or own a piece from the Home Collection, but for his mark on the fashion world.

In an interview early in his career, Gianni said:
“Everyone asks me who can wear Versace. I don’t know. Anyone can wear Versace. On the other hand, there are those who can’t: boring people, that’s for sure.”

VERSACE ROOTS

Fashion enthusiasts and those drawn to a mix of modern and ancient imagery will be fascinated with the exhibition. In Calabria and Southern Italy in general, roots are still felt. But what of the stylist’s relationship with the place of his birth?

Reflecting on his origins, Versace said:
“Reggio Calabria is the realm where the fairy tale of my life began, my mother’s tailor shop, her high-fashion boutique, the place where, as a child, I began to appreciate the Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid, where I began to breathe the art of Magna Graecia.”

THE VERSACE FAMILY

A couple years ago as I was walking up the street that leads from the sea to the cathedral in downtown Reggio and telling the story of Gianni Versace to one of my small tour groups, a local woman stopped me and said that she was close with the family. She didn’t speak English but was so happy to recognize that guests of her city were learning about this history very dear to her heart, and she wanted to give me a book, which she retrieved from her car parked nearby, Fratelli: una famiglia italiana by Santo Versace.

I cherished the meeting, but admittedly only read the book cover to cover this past week. What I didn’t expect was that the woman I met was not only mentioned but with heartfelt affection. Nora was part of the “Italian family,” not a blood relative but intimately embraced by the inner circle. Through circumstances, she lived with the Versace family, as a cousin-sister-aunt wrapped up in one.

When Gianni and his elder brother Santo grew up, Reggio was a different world. Italy was a different world, before television united the country linguistically. Their sister Donatella was younger, the child of parents who had achieved success following the Second World War. The close-knit family flourished together. In the beginning, they lived and celebrated with simple pleasures. Over time, success came on many levels, extending to the glamor of celebrity status and lifestyle. But Gianni kept in touch with his origins, not the least of which was Nora, who even met Lady Diana! Interestingly, Santo talks to his cousin-sister-aunt every day, not in Italian, but in the calabrese mother tongue of the city where he grew up.

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The exhibition Gianni Versace. Terra Mater – Magna Græcia Roots Tribute is at the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Reggio Calabria in Calabria, Southern Italy through April 19th.

Visit Southern Italy on one of my small-group experiences! Join me on a Calabria Tour (I have three itineraries) or on my Basilicata Tour of Calabria’s northern neighbor.

Read about the fascinating Calabrian region in my book Calabria: The Other Italy, described by Publisher’s Weekly as “an intoxicating blend of humor, joy, and reverence for this area in Italy’s deep south,” and explore Calabria’s northern neighbor in my book Basilicata: Authentic Italy, “recommended to readers who appreciate all things Italian” by the Library Journal.

Follow me on social media: Basilicata Facebook page, Calabria: The Other Italy’s Facebook page, Karen’s Instagram and Karen’s Twitter for beautiful pictures and information.
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CALABRIA: The Other Italy and BASILICATA: Authentic Italy make great gifts!