Versace sticks it out

Fashion house Versace will no longer try to sell a minority stake. Instead, the company will work towards breaking even in 2007. CEO Giancarlo Di Risio, who joined the company in 2004, revealed the news yesterday. He said that 2007 would be the earliest possible time to begin any type of investment discussion.

Di Risio warned that the financial results that are to be published next week would not be positive, with further losses and a fall in revenues, but said that the end of the fiscal year 2004 signified the end of "an unhappy period for Versace".

He reported that Donatella Versace, who emerged successfully from rehab, had been instrumental in the turnaround of the company, and said that he expects great things for the future. "This is a historic transformation from a family-run company to a manager-run company," he told WWD. "We are abiding by the same principles as a publicly listed company. Our priority is to bring the company into a state of equilibrium."

Di Risio has reduced the number of Versace Medusa head logos used in the collections in an effort to differentiate between top-line goods and other goods. "Versace is one of the very few companies that has a symbol as strong as the Medusa. But you have to know how to exploit it," he said. Di Risio has shifted the company's focus to top line goods and accessories.

Versace currently has a debt outstanding of GBP 55 million, which, Di Risio pointed out, means "that as of today we can no longer talk about the company having an at-risk situation in terms of debt."

The company is currently finalizing the completion of its boutique in Milan, the first floor of which is dedicated to accessories. It is also renovation its New York store. "The Fifth Avenue store is particularly special because Gianni really wanted it," said Di Risio. It is not yet clear if the Versus diffusion line will be discontinued.

www.versace.com
25 May 2005

Palazzo Versace in Dubai

The House of Versace is to build a new hotel in Dubai. It will be the world's second Palazzo Versace. The first hotel opened in 2000 on the Australian Gold Coast. Versace has joined forces with Australian property developer Sunland Group Limited and Emirates International holdings to develop the project.

Both Sunland and Versace's management agree that the Middle East is a promising arena for such a project. Anne Jamieson, general manager of Sunland Group, recently said: "The Group's current acquisition strategy is to concentrate only on those areas that are showing strong future population and infrastructure growth, along with providing a product that matches the market's needs for that specific geographic location."
The building is expected to begin in early 2006.

www.versace.com
19 May 2005

Donatella Versace comes clean

Designer Donatella Versace has admitted that she was hooked on cocaine for 18 years. Versace told Vogue Magazine that she gave up drugs for a while after her brother, Gianni, was murdered in 1997. But she said that she went back to cocaine and starting mixing it with prescription medication.

In an interview published in the May issue, Versace said that she decided to break the habig when friends set up an intervention at her daughter's birthday party last year. She spent five weeks at a rehabilitation center in Arizona. Versace said that she did not recognize she had an addiction while the drug was giving her confidence and helping her overcome self-hatred.

www.versace.com
25 April 2005

Versace auctions Gianni's antiques

221 antiques collected by Gianni Versace over 20 years and shelved inside his sumptuous Via Gesú palazzo were auctioned off Thursday night for 2.6 million euros.

"I felt it was time to move on," said Donatella Versace.

Meanwhile, Sotheby's is organizing four auctions of more prestigious pieces collected by the late designer to be held in New York through April and May. A hearty crowd filed into the auction room Thursday to bid on an eclectic mix of bronzed and marble chandeliers, porcelain vases, Flemish paintings, 19th-century globes, gilded mirrors and silver sculptures, which represent about 20 percent of Versace's vast art collection.

www.versace.com
8 April 2005

Versace's legacy

The day designer Gianni Versace was shot, he had reportedly been out to the shops to buy magazines for his neice, Allegra Beck. Apparently, Allegra never got over this fact, a source told the New York Daily News.

Allegra was recently seen leaving the UCLA Medical Centre - where Mary-Kate Olsen was treated for anorexia - looking frighteningly thin, sparking rumours that she is ill.

Beck has been described as "an intelligent, sensitive, lovely young woman".

www.versace.com
7 March 2005

Edinburgh Woos Versace

Edinburgh is to see a new Versace store, as the institutional designer store closes in its sister-city, Glasgow. Developers have held talks aimed at luring the designer boutique - the outfitter of choice for Glasgow celebrities and power-dressers since 1991 - to the Scottish capital. If they succeed, it would be a tremendous coup for the capital, which has already attracted Harvey Nichols, Louis Vuitton, Calvin Klein, Daks and Emporio Armani to the Walk development.

Chris Hunt, a fashion writer and former public relations adviser to Versace in the UK, said: "I am really sorry to see Versace pulling out of Ingram Street because it is a really happening place. "The past few years have been a very stressful time for Versace, which has been producing a lot of different collections and they may well be aiming for different customers."

Sarah Davidson, whose family-run clothes shop in Edinburgh was recently named one of the world's leading fashion boutiques, said she believed Versace had failed to keep up with the times. "Versace was such a ground-breaker. This was the first major designer flagship store in Scotland and it was a very brave decision at the time to launch in Glasgow," she said. "It had a huge following among footballers and was very in touch with what was going on in fashion at the time.

19 February 2005

Versace's art auction

The house of Versace is to auction its valuable art collection once owned by its late designer Gianni Versace. The impressive collection, which once adorned the fashion guru's six-storey New York townhouse, includes contemporary, impressionist, modern and 19th century paintings is to be auctioned at Sotheby's in London and New York.

The collection is valued at between £6.5m and £9m and includes important works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Edgar Degas. It is the second time Sotheby's has sold furnishings belonging to the Italian designer, who was gunned down at his Miami Beach mansion in 1997. In 2001 art and furnishings from the Florida house were sold for £5.5m.

4 February 2005

Versace niece wins apology from Now magazine

The niece of murdered fashion designer Gianni Versace has won an apology from Now magazine over the publication of an article speculating on her health and containing pictures showing the 18-year-old shopping in London.

According to the Press Complaints Commission, Allegra Versace Beck made a formal complaint through her solicitors after the celebrity magazine published an article and photos in September 2004 entitled "Yes, you can be too rich and too thin". Ms Versace Beck, who inherited a 50% stake in the Versace designer empire on her 18th birthday, said that the article and photo intruded into her privacy.

This, she argued, breached a clause in the Commission's Code of Practice that says "Everyone is entitled to respect for his or her private and family life, home, health and correspondence, including digital communications. Editors will be expected to justify intrusions into any individual's private life without consent."

The complaint has been resolved with the magazine publishing an apology to Ms Versace Beck. The magazine also undertook not to repeat the article, re-publish the photos or publish any further material on her private life, health or general well being unless authorised by her or her representatives.

www.versace.com
29 January 2005

Versace family barred from using trademark

An American judge has banned a member of the Versace family from illegally using the Italian fashion house's trademarked name for his own products. Manhattan District Judge Peter Leisure imposed a permanent injunction against Alfredo Versace, who claims to be the cousin of Gianni Versace, the late fashion designer.

The injunction prohibits Alfredo from using the Versace name in any commercial context. Last year, Alfredo served a short sentende for contempt of court for ignoring prior orders not to manufacture watches, bottled water and clothes under the Versace trademark.

www.versace.com
26 January 2005

Working Girl

The new campaign for fashion house Versace features Madonna as a working woman. Looking stunning in sleek, shiny office wear that shouts sensuality far louder than simple work ethics, Madonna is shown posing in a state of the art office, complete with office daybed - we should be so lucky!

The campaign was styled by Brana Wolf and shot by celebrity photographer Mario Testino and cost a whopping $20 million (GBP 11.2 million). A large portion of this amount went to remunerating the campaign's star. According to Donatella Versace, the house's head designer, Madonna is worth the money. "She's an icon. She's an innovator, a groundbreaker and she's the best in her field. She relates to women of all ages. She's got extraordinary personal style and has been a friend of mine and the house for many years," said Donatella.

www.versace.com
10 January 2005

Versace art under bid

Milan auctioneers Porro Art Consulting will hold an auction of the collection of antique furniture, paintings, sculptures and jewelry of Donatella Versace on April 7 and another on May 7. The collection is estimated at around $9.24 million.
Many of these items once belonged to the late Gianni Versace. The auction will include the contents of two Versace properties: The palazzo in Via Gesu in Milan and the 18th-century Villa Fontanelle at Moltrasio on Lake Como.

www.versace.com
8 January 2005

Versace Mansion Gets Makeover

Interior decorating firm Innovative Creations said it will restore and enhance the mansion once owned by Gianni Versace and now used as an ultra-private club and spa.
The Fort Lauderdale company, Casa Casuarina, has been asked to keep the elegant feel and artistic flavour of the 1930s-era home. The company was responsible for the initial restoration and decorating when it was bought in 2000.

The four-story mansion has 10 bedroom suites, a spa, lounge and bar, men's and women's lockers, a media/marketing room, lounge, roof deck and observatory, corporate offices, dining room, prep kitchen, beach club, outdoor bar and pool. Innovative Creations said it is to be responsible for all furnishings and appointments, from mural work designed around birds in the Parrots Suite to the poolside Moroccan Lounge. The grand opening for the changes to the home, at 1116 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, is set for the end of next month.

www.versace.com
12 December 2004

Madonna gets 4.5m for Versace ad

Talk about doing your friends a favour. Madonna's advertising campaign for Versace has reportedly cost Donatella & Co a whopping 5.4 million pounds and free clothes for the next two years. According to a US Weekly, Madge would also get to use the Versace mansion in Milan as a part of her pay out for the ad, which was photographed by Mario Testino. Isn't that what friends are for?

www.versace.com
6 December 2004

Madonna new face of Versace

The house of Versace has never opted for the subtle, and it comes as no surprise fashion photographer Mario Testino has shot Madonna for the House's latest ad campaign. To be launched in major publications in February, spokesman for the house of Versace declined to make any comment on the new shoot and the fees for it, though some say that Madonna is primarily interested in snatching a new wardrobe from her friend designer.

www.versace.com
1 December 2004

Versace rumours

The latest juicy gossip in designerville is that Tom Ford is not completely out of the fashion loop. But it gets better. Not only is he alleged to be chatting up former Gucci Group CEO, Domenico de Sole, but rumour has it that Ford and Sole were in discussions to buy Versace six weeks ago.

According to Pagesix.com the pair approached Donatello Versace and offered to buy out her share in Versace. There was one condition to the offer: Donatella was to relinquish all involvement in the company. When Versace was questioned about these recent developments, a representative firmly denied all the rumours. However, experience has taught us that where there is smoke, there is fire. What will Ford and De Sole do next, we wonder?

www.versace.com
30 November 2004

Trading Places

The former commercial director of Valentino, Loredana Nastro, has taken on a new position at Versace as worldwide commercial director. She will be reporting to CEO Giancarlo di Risio. Nastro resigned from Valentino shortly after the departure of marketing director Jacopo Venturini for Polo Ralph Lauren. Prior to working for Valentino, Nastro worked as commercial director at Emilio Pucci. Nastro will be based at the Versace offices in Milan.

www.versace.com
11 November 2004

Versace Favours The Dangerous Look

Donatella Versace recently said Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt are too clean-cut. The queen of flash fashion claims the handsome actors need to start making an effort to look more like bad boys. She said: "Ben Affleck looks like a nice American boy. He's a gorgeous man, but he should have more attitude, be more dangerous."

"American men groom way too much. The haircut is always perfect. Brad Pitt is an example. He's too polished for me." The designer recently held a star-studded party for Madonna at London's swanky Cipriani restaurant. Guests included Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie, Liz Hurley, Elton's John's boyfriend David Furnish and Jamelia.

www.versace.com
13 October 2004

Versace profits plunging

The high-profile Italian fashion house is suffering enormous losses, despite a successful show during Milan fashion week. The company is reportedly making GBP 175 million less a year than when Gianni Versace was alive. This translates to a year on year decline of 17.2%. Versace's net debt at the end of 2003 amounted to GBP 83 million. Furthermore the family suffered a GBP 25 million inheritance tax bill.

A host of problems has been plaguing the company causing damage to its reputation. Chief designer Donatella Versace was recently hospitalized due to "a personal family matter". Her 18 year old daughter, who is now the largest shareholder in the company with a 50% stake, has expressed no interest in the fashion industry and wants to have a career in film. The fashion industry has started to refer to the fashion house as "troubled" and watches its progress with trepidation.

www.versace.com
4 October 2004

Versace Closes Milan Fashion Week

The big shows of Milan fashion week ended on Saturday night with more of a fizzle than a pop. But all credit was due to Donatella Versace, who turned out to take her bow at the family show - the last big production of the week - even though it is barely two months since she reportedly checked into a rehabilitation clinic to treat her cocaine addiction.

At the time the family asked for privacy. There have been no updates on the designer's progress, so it seems this request has been respected - but she looked leaner in face and body on Saturday evening.

Perhaps understandably, the collection was a little on the lean side and could have been put together by numbers, with a short study of a few previous Versace collections.

But with cute silk jersey halter-neck dresses in bon-bon pastels, a coral-print oversized towelling beach robe and plenty of tailored hot pants, it will be enough to satisfy the Versace customer next summer on St Tropez and the Gold Coast.

www.gianniversace.com
3 October 2004

Versace To Forego Internal Financial Re-Structure

Versace has reportedly stopped its search for a suitable financial partner in a move to restructure its fashion empire under the guidance of the newly appointed CEO, Giancarlo di Risio.

Di Risio, who was the former CEO at Fendi, joins the ailing fashion house as the Company named three other financial experts to their board. The moves were regarded by analysts as a chance for Versace to find a financial partner on the most favourable terms.

According to WGSN, sources are saying the firm is to focus on costcutting and organic development with di Risio having full powers to restructure. Versace has said little other than to confirm to the Italian press that the board late last week gave di Risio those powers.

At the same board meeting, former co-CEOs Santo and Donatella Versace were made president of the board and vice-president of the company respectively. The investment firms that were seeking a financial partner have not commented, although industry observers speculated that Versace's losses and the fact that it was only offering a minority stake could have put off potential investors.

Di Risio has a strong reputation and good knowledge of Versace through his time as CEO of IT Holding, which held some Versace licenses. Versace is 50 per cent owned by Allegra Beck, niece of Gianni Versace, Donatella owns 20 per cent and Santo holds 30 per cent.

www.gianniversace.com
6 September 2004

Donatella Versace Treated For Addiction

The curse of the Versace family has struck again after it was confirmed earlier this week that celebrity fashion designer, Donatella, was undergoing rehabilitation for cocaine addiction.

Donatella, 49, has long had a drug problem. The news that she is undergoing therapy comes just days after the seventh anniversary of the murder of her brother Gianni, who was gunned down on the doorstep of his Miami mansion.

The permanently bronzed queen of fashion who counts Elton John and the Beckhams as her friends was last seen in public at the Milan men's show looking very thin. Days earlier she had been photographed at the 18th birthday party of her daughter, Allegra.

Rumours that Donatella, who is split from Allegra's father, Paul Beck, had gone into therapy surfaced this month when she failed to show up for the Paris fashion show for the first time in years.

Yesterday a spokesman at the company's Milan headquarters confirmed that Donatella was in a United States drugs clinic and added: "The company views this as a private matter and there will be no further comment."

One Italian fashion writer said: "The rumour that Donatella was in rehab surfaced at the end of June. She looked a terrible state. She had lost 10kg in weight and looked terribly thin. She had a wig or hair extensions on during the Milan show because her hair had fallen out. It's long been known that she has a problem with drugs, so I'm not surprised she has gone into a clinic.

"It's such a shame the Versace family just seems to be going from one problem to another. Things haven't gone right since Gianni's murder, and the company has been losing money ever since. Allegra has also had health problems, and now Donatella is in a clinic."

Following his death in July 1997, Gianni Versace left 50 per cent of the company to Allegra, his favourite niece. She inherited her share on 30 June.

The rest of the shares belong to Donatella, who owns 30 per cent, and Allegra's uncle Santo, who has 20 per cent. However, the company has seen its value tumble from GBP500 million to GBP 250 million, with the accounts this month reporting a loss of almost GBP20 million.

www.gianniversace.com
29 July 2004

Versace Barbie

Donatella Versace apparently is thrilled with her new Barbie model. In fact, she calls her the "ultimate fashion icon." Barbie, who has previously modelled for Nicole Miller, Armani and Christian Dior, now has two versions of herself dressed in exclusive Versace fabrics, which are available at Versace boutiques.

Versace Barbie dons a sleeveless designer gown with cascading chiffon ruffles, and her companion Versus Barbie wears a colourful bodysuit and a short fur jacket.

"After years of dressing some of the most famous women in the world," says Donatella Versace, meaning the likes of Aguilera, J.Lo and Beyonce, "it is a thrill to dress Barbie. She's the ultimate fashion icon.'' The profits form the sales will go to the Elton John AIDS

www.gianniversace.com
22 July 2004

New Face Of Versace

Allegra Beck, the teenage daughter of Donatella Versace, has taken control of the fashion house after inheriting 50% of the family business from her late uncle.In his will, Gianni Versace left his niece the controlling share of the USD140million company when she turned 18.

Dubbed as Giannia "little princess," Beck celebrated the event at a Milan nightclub and was seen earlier in the day attending the menswear shows with her mother. Her uncle, Santo Versace, 59, holds 30% and her mother and designer owns the remaining 20 per cent. The company declined to comment on Allegra's intentions. But she is currently studying in the US and has said she would like to pursue a career in acting.

She takes control, in name at least, as the house is tightening its operations to prepare for new investment. After struggling financially following Gianni Versace's murder in 1997, Santo has described it as "seven years of woes", and blamed a tough global climate for luxury goods. But even before Gianni's murder the label was battling with debt problems, partly due to Gianni's extravagant lifestyle.

The company's interim chief executive, Daniele Ballestrazzi, said in March the firm had appointed Credit Suisse First Boston to find a minority investor and take the company public. Santo Versace told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the company would be willing to sell as much as 25% to a fund. Versace shareholders will meet on Monday to approve its 2003 accounts and unconfirmed Italian press reports say its net loss will widen to 40 million euros.

But such things probably seemed trivial to Allegra as she celebrated her birthday at a nightclub in Milan with 100 of her friends and a performance by hip-hop artist Pharrell Williams. The company is also negotiating to open more hotels such as the six-star Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast.

www.gianniversace.com
2 July 2004

Prodigy Singer Shocks Versace Catwalk

The lead singer with the band Prodigy, Keith Flint, shocked Milan's fashion establishment by simulating oral sex with a male spectator and licking a woman's face during a Versace fashion show in Milan.

According to accounts in Monday's Italian newspaper, Flint livened up his performance in Milan over the weekend by jumping off the catwalk and moving his pelvis close to a man's face before terrorising other spectators with sexual innuendoes.

The act was seen as a carefully choreographed publicity stunt ahead of the release of the group's latest album, "Always outnumbered, never outgunned", which is due to hit music stores in August. Flint had reportedly nearly broken his leg while practising the stunt.

Host Donatella Versace had been keen to avoid a different kind of scandal by forbidding Flint from wearing a tee-shirt with references to Satan on the catwalk, reports said.

www.gianniversace.com
www.theprodigy.com
1 july 2004

Versace Tries Her Hand At Tennis

In a bid for the most expensive tennis lesson ever, flash fashion designer Donatella Versace has paid USD25,000 for a one-hour tennis lesson from Serena Williams. Versace won the chance to learn from the tennis superstar in an AIDS auction at the Cannes Film Festival.

Monica Seles also offered up her services, which were won by a British doctor.

www.gianniversace.com
7 June 2004

Animal Welfare Group Bans Versace

The Humane Society of the United States has written a letter to Donatella Versace in a bid to ask the Italian fashion house to discontinue the use of seal fur in their products. The letter, which was also signed by the 12 American Idol finalists, is in line with the US' largest animal protection organisation that campaigns against the commercial slaughter of animals.

With government figures showing as many as 1 million baby seals will be killed over the next three years in Canada, it becomes increasingly difficult for any designer to justify the use of animal fur in their collections. The American Idol finalists, a group that has attracted a media frenzy of publicity, stated they will not wear Versace clothes if the house supports Seal hunting. And rightly so.

www.gianniversace.com
26 May 2004

New Focus On Advertising For Versace

Italian fashion house Gianni Versace is planning to boost its brand advertising and marketing, spending 20 per cent in the second half to lure more customers as it focuses on its ready-to-wear collections.

Chief executive Daniele Ballestrazzi said the Milan-based company was streamlining women's design and production operations to accelerate deliveries by at least two months. Versace will also focus on markets including Asia, Italy, the US, and Russia to boost sales.

"We have revised the structure of our women's ready-to-wear operations to speed up deliveries," he said. "The new process, accompanied by the increased media campaign, should create a virtuous cycle," he added.

Versace, whose clothes are worn by celebrities including Britney Spears and Elton John, is trying to build up its business to compete with Gucci Group and LVMH.

Versace has been run by Donatella and Santo Versace since the death of their brother Gianni, who was murdered on the front steps of his Miami Beach villa in 1997. Donatella's daughter Allegra will control 50 per cent of the business, which she inherited from her uncle, when she turns 18 in June. Donatella holds 30 per cent, and Santo holds 20 per cent

Under the new system, Versace will show its women's clothing to buyers at private showroom appointments starting in January for the fall-winter collections and in July for the spring- summer collections.

Ballestrazzi said the aim is to sell 75% to 80% of the collection before the fashion shows in March and September, standard procedure at big fashion houses such as Gucci and Prada.

In March, Versace hired Banca Intesa SpA, Italy's largest bank by assets, to reorganise its debt and provide financing of as much as 140 million euros.

www.gianniversace.com
17 May 2004

Versace's Niece To Inherit Fashion House

On June 30 of this year a 50 per cent stake of Italian fashion house Versace will be inherited by the late great designer Gianni Versace's niece, Allegra Versace Beck. She will be the company's largest shareholder worth an estimated USD100m.

While the company is struggling with spiralling sales (down 17.5 per cent on last year) as well as contending with a not-so-hot-this-minute image problem, a refinancing of the House seems inevitable as a USD123m bond issues comes due this summer, which, of course, has to be paid.

Speculation that Italian banks have agreed to lend the company USD172 million will allow the House to repay the bond in addition to providing working capital. Pay-back from non-strategic assets such as Versace's art collection and real estate will, as analysts predict, half the debt which currently stands at USD144m.

Investors will be reluctant to part with their cash as Gianni's sister and current designer Donatella Versace will not relinquish more than 30% of the company. Investment would become more interesting were a majority stake in question. Any investor putting in money would want to execute some managerial control. This rings as especially true of the larger luxury groups, such as LVMH and Gucci Group. If anything, the recent dispute at Gucci with PPR should be a good learning curve for the House.

If a partner were brought in at Versace, Allegra's stake would be valued below 50%. While the young Versace is not planning to follow in her mother and uncle's footsteps to design for the house, an interested buyer could officially get control by dealing directly with Allegra. Soon the colour could fade from Donatella's face.

www.gianniversace.com
13 April 2004

Versace Considering Selling Stake

Rumour has it that flailing Italian fashion house Versace may sell a 25 per cent stake of its company to clear debts and make way for expansion. The Milan based company has made public that it would prefer a financial investor to take such a holding.

Back in 1997 the Gucci Group proposed a merger, which at that time Versace responded it was too "premature" to discuss merging.

www.gianniversace.com
18 March 2004

Versace Back On Catwalk

Donatella Versace's couture collection returned to the Paris catwalks last week after an absence of two seasons. Couture runway shows had been on hold as part of a financial turnaround strategy for the Italian luxury goods brand, but the spring 04 collection for private customers signified a renewed confidence.

Super-fit garments in high-sheen satin silk showed that Donatella had her glamour gauge turned up full power. Key pieces included a 1970s white trouser suit with a crystal-encrusted belt, a beaded mini-dress and a body-wrapping floor-length gown with skin flashing options.

www.gianniversace.com
30 January 2004

Hurley's Versace wedding

Liz Hurley is to wear a red sari designed by Donatella Versace when she walks down the aisle with her Indian love Arun Nayar.

She and Arun have decided to have two wedding ceremonies, one in Mumbai and another in London, and Hurley, 36, is to have asked Donatella to create the sari as well as a white dress for wedding planned for February.

The former Estee Lauder model shot to fame in 1994 when she attended a movie premiere with Hugh Grant in a black Versace creation put together by safety pins. The frock was instantly dubbed "that dress" and Liz was hailed as a style icon.

21 July 2003
www.gianniversace.com

Versace fashion museum

Gianni Versace's Ocean-front Miami mansion is to be opened as a fashion museum, Vogue reported this week. The currant owner, who bought the palazzo in 2000, is rumoured to be planning to fill Casa Casuarina with designs by Versace and other designers and open it up to the public as a tribute to the designer.
All hope of the house being kept as a permanent memorial to Versace was shattered when the family sold it to Peter Loftin for approximately USD 19m. Loftin originally planned to use it as a private residence and then reportedly considered turning it into a hotel. His new plans for the property have delighted Versace fans the world over, Vogue said. Loftin is expected to announce his plans for the house shortly. Casa Casuarina was built for an oil executive in the Thirties and is now Florida's most photographed building.

www.gianniversace.com

Christina Aguilera inspires Versace

Donatella Versace ended Milan's fashion week with clingy miniskirts and block-print leggings inspired by front-row guest and the label's new star, U.S. pop pin-up Christina Aguilera. Donatella showed both the younger, diffusion label Versus and the top-line Versace collection back to back, with hair back-combed and big in the first and sleek and stylish in the second.

"There are so many things I love about Donatella and her clothing. I think it is strong, its sexy, empowering and she's a powerful woman in the industry and I respect that," the 22-year-old Christina Aguilera told Reuters before Versace showed her autumn/winter 2003/4 collection. Aguilera, her platinum hair ringleted and loose and wearing a dark pink Versace dress, sat quietly as models strutted round the pod-shaped catwalk, turning once in a while to whisper to a friend.

Joining the fashion fest's fever for all things mini and clingy, teeny skirts and drainpipe trousers in creams and caramels were matched with crocodile-skin spikes and zips and tassels on anything that could take their weight. Colour was kept to a minimum at Versace, a surprise at the house known for its head-turning brights, but it did not skimp on the revealing cuts red-carpet regulars love it for.

The 1980s time-warp came on more strongly in the Versus line, which was choc-full of bright turquoise blues and mustard golds chopped up into bold prints on leggings, skinny mini-dresses, furs and towering stilettos. But despite the mini-dresses, the stars, the strobes and the army of supermodels, applause was sparse and the audience was largely unenthusiastic.

www.gianniversace.com
March 6, 2003

New exclusive Versace watch

Donatella Versace has launched a new wristwatch in a numbered series. The Versace Precious Items - line was born in1989, and the new watch is the latest in a series of more precious pieces. The "Versace on Fifth" watch boasts 22 diamonds (0.308 carats each) on its dial and has a strap in alligator leather.

Prices range from 770 to 2580 euros each for men and women versions which are sold in the most exclusive jewelleries and Versace boutiques. For the watches the same colours were used as for the Versace spring/summer '03 collection. For Valentines day a special pink version was launched .

The watches are realized and produced in Switzerland by Versace S.A. The likes of Madonna, Jennifer Lopez and Carmen Maura have already expressed an interest. But some famous men too can't resist them either: Bruce Willis, Puff Daddy and Nicolas Cage are some of the jet-set people responsible for the success of these "medusa jewels".

February 18, 2003
www.gianniversace.com

Versace opens Russian home store

Versace wil open a new boutique dedicated solely to its home collection in Moscow mid-February. The 550 square-meter space, filled with Versace's entire home line, is located in the luxury-filled Crocus City Mall, just 25 minutes outside of the city center. This is the company's second home store in the world, following their Milan location, which opened in 1999 in Via San Pietro all'Orto.

Versace was first international fashionhouses when it opened Moscows first luxury brand flagship boutique back in 1994. Since that the time, the brand has flourished, as wealthy upper class Russians warmed immediately to the flashy and opulent style.

The new boutique will carry the entire Versace Home collection including both the classical and new modern furniture, as well as bed and bath linens, tableware by Rosenthal and glassware by Venini. The company is also introducing a new interior decorating service, dedicating a special space within the store to help clients, free of charge, with all their decorating need.

February 6, 2003
www.gianniversace.com

Sunglasses firm Luxottica makes deal with Versace

Leading sunglasses firm Luxottica Group SpA last Wednesday revealed it had won a 10-year contract to design, produce and distribute branded eyewear for Versace Group. The company said in a news release the worldwide license agreement is for Versace, Versus and Versace Sport sunglasses and prescription frames, with the new collections due to be launched in March.

The deal is expected to boost Luxottica's income by 90 million euros in the first twelve months. Financial terms of the details were not released. Donatella and Santo Versace, co-CEO's of Versace Group, said: "Luxottica Group is the ideal partner for Versace. Through this joint effort, we believe that the great potential of the Versace brand in the worldwide eyewear market will be fully realized.”

Luxottica is the world leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of prescription frames and sunglasses in mid- and premium-priced categories. The Group's products, which are designed and manufactured in six facilities in Italy and one in the People's Republic of China, include over 2,250 styles in a wide array of colors.

www.gianniversace.com

January 17, 2003

Versace skips Paris haute catwalks

It’s the first time in over ten years that the house of Versace will be absent from the Paris haute catwalks. Instead of a runway show, the glitz and glam Milanese house will present its couture collection in its flagship Paris boutique on January 20. While Donatella's latest couture collections have garnered positive reviews and contained plenty of magazine spread worthy looks, she has suffered her share of critical barracking.

It’s a pity that Donatella Versace won’t be present at the runway shows. Given her talent in attracting celebrities as Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna, the lack of a Versace show will drastically reduce the razzmatazz quotient in the Paris season. The decision of Versace is said to be ‘a strategic reflection’. The move is sure to provoke speculation that the Italian fashion house is also feeling the pinch from the recent slump in consumer spending.

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January 8, 2003

Versace: "sales are improving"

Santo Versace, co-chairman of Italian fashion House Gianni Versace, said the worst is over for the luxury-goods industry and demand is beginning to improve.
"We already have the first signs of a recovery," Mr. Versace said. "By the last quarter of this year or the beginning of next year we will have the
signs of a strong rebound." The luxury-goods industry is just beginning to recover after a worldwide economic slump that led shoppers to forgo purchases of designer clothes, handbags and jewellery.

Rival Gucci Group and Louis Vuitton said earlier they expect to see a second-half improvement in demand for luxury items. Analysts don't expect to see a full rebound until next year as wealthy shoppers, especially from Japan, wait for economies to improve before resuming high-ticket purchases.

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08-23-02

Author alleges Versace has mafia ties, Versace family sues Frank Monte
November 2001

In 1997 Italian clothing designer, Gianni Versace, was shot dead on the steps of his South Beach mansion in Miami.

The gunman was Andrew Cunanan, who killed himself nine days after he murdered Gianni Versace.

Private investigator Frank Monte has written a new book about the death of the famous designer, which may never be sold. Monte is being sued after alleging in his book that Versace had made shady deals with the Mafia and that the designer's own brother, Santo and sister were involved in the designer's murder.The Versace family are hoping to suppress the book "The Spying Game" in which Monte has made the allegations.

Donatella Versace vigorously denies the claims that she was linked to her brother's murder, in a Sydney courtroom in the ongoing case the Italian fashion house has brought against former policeman Frank Monte. Gianni's brother Santo Versace was in Federal Court in Sydney on Monday. He is expected to give evidence against Monte in the case.

Monte alleges in his book that he was hired to protect Gianni Versace and worked for the fashion giant from 1996 to 1997. He claims that Versace himself confided in him about the Versace family's involvement with the Mafia. The book was withdrawn just a few days before it was set for release in June after the Versace family threatened to take legal action.

Gianni Versace was famous through-out the world. He was often referred to as the rock-and-roll designer whose male clients included George Michael, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Michael Jackson. Versace also made clothes for Princess Diana, Caroline of Monaco and other world famous women. He was shot twice in the head by Cunanan on July 15, 1997.

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