I am indebted to scores of people who helped make this book possible, generously granting me their time and sharing with me their memories of an extraordinary man and the legacy he left. While I never had the privilege of meeting Gianni Versace, he became a growing source of inspiration over the course of this project as I learned more of his uncommon talent, determination, and humanity.
This book is based primarily on my firsthand reporting, consisting of 220 interviews with friends, family, former lovers, co-workers, rivals, and business partners of the Versaces, as well as on my review of three decades of financial documents, historical footage of runway shows, police reports, and public records in Milan, New York, Calabria, and Miami.
My greatest debt of gratitude surely goes to Santo and Donatella Versace. This is the first book to enjoy the help of the Versace family. In a world that depends on spinning a dream, fashion houses are fiercer than most businesses in protecting their images, and the Versaces are no exception. The drama and pathos of the Versaces’ personal and professional lives have made them understandably reticent to cooperate with authors in the past, wary of how their story would be treated. Yet, once they agreed to help, they answered my many questions with grace and patience, reliving not just the good times, but recounting for me a long terrible period they would just as soon forget. Their devotion and deep affection for their brother and his memory came through clearly in every one of my long interviews with them.
Donatella is all too often caricatured in the media, but the picture that friends, colleagues, and family painted for me is of a warm, loving, if at times troubled woman. She has wrestled with her demons and is admirably open about her shortcomings. I hope this book offers the world a more nuanced portrait that goes beyond the spitfire blonde in the Versace evening dress.
Over the course of many hours of interviews, Santo offered me a treasure trove of memories, facts, and details that enormously enriched my portrait of the business side of the story, in particular the early days when he and his brother ventured north to Milan to set up shop. Santo has now moved on to a career in Italian politics, but his passion for his brother’s house is evident even today. I hope I have done justice to his story.
Antonio D’Amico, Gianni’s longtime partner, deserves a special thanks for graciously answering hours of questions, some delving into the most painful moments of his life. His insights into Gianni’s life and personality were invaluable in writing this book.
Virtually the only person who declined to speak with me was Allegra Versace, despite my repeated pleas. I regret that she chose not to participate in this book, as her voice would have further enriched the complicated story of her family and the company that she now controls. It might also have gone far toward chasing away the speculation that continues to swirl around the delicate young woman.
I owe a special thanks to Isabelle Harvie Watt and Deirdre McCready, as well as to Cristina Crolli and Lisa Hellman in the Versace press office for putting up with nearly two years of pestering for interviews, invitations to fashion shows, historical material, and insight into the company and the family. They most certainly must have tired of my incessant requests, but nonetheless met each one of them with good humor. Stefania Alberti, Santo’s loyal assistant, cheerfully helped me navigate her boss’s busy schedule.
Giancarlo Di Risio took time out of his busy schedule to sit for several interviews, recounting in detail his work in restoring Versace’s health.
Santo and Donatella opened the door to a large number of friends and family who were instrumental in understanding the roots of this storied clan. Childhood friends in Calabria lovingly described the happy early family life of the siblings and their remarkable parents, in particular their mother. I would first thank Nora Macheda, the woman who helped raise the Versace siblings and who welcomed me into the family home to entrust me with her recollections of the clan. Enzo Crupi, Donatella’s high school sweetheart, played my personal tour guide to Reggio. Anna Candela, a dear friend of Gianni’s, offered me valuable insight into his childhood and teenage years. Other family and friends who helped include Tita Versace, Carlo Casile, Bruno De Robertis, Antonella Freno, Donatella Benedetto, and Anna Camerata.
This book would not have been possible without the unstinting cooperation of many people with firsthand knowledge of the House of Versace since its birth. Many people reached back in time to recall details of the early days of working with Gianni. I would like to thank particularly Franca Biagini, Gianni’s beloved premiere, who welcomed me into her home and fed me a wonderful Tuscan meal while she shared fond memories of her years at Versace. Patrizia Cucco, Gianni’s devoted personal assistant, lived up to her reputation as the house’s living historian. Franco Lussana, a dear family friend and one of Versace’s first employees, recalled the very first days when a fresh-faced Gianni landed in Milan. Wanda Galtrucco, a dear friend of Gianni, painted a fond picture of the designer. Donatella Girombelli recalled the period when she and her husband gave Gianni one of his big breaks. David Brown offered me priceless recollections of the supermodel era.
Other current and former longtime Versace employees answered my many questions about the history of the house, including Nunzio Palamara, Angelo Azzena, Paola Marletta, Anna Cernuschi, Stefano Guerriero, Bruno Gianesi, Brian Atwood, Jurgen Oeltjenbruns, Luca Callegari, Jason Weisenfeld, Andrea Tremolada, Enrico Genevois, Anna Caputo, Patrick Guadagno, Emanuela Schmeidler, and Loredana Nastro.
Other business associates filled out the history of the house: Mario Mangano, Walter Ragazzi, Giuseppe Menta, Riccardo Guy, Roberto Devorik, Nando Miglio, Dawn Mello, Carole White, Ellin Saltzman, Barbara Vitti, Donato De Santis, Anne Marie Paltsou, Mario Boselli, Ron Frasch, Gio Moretti, Wallace Tutt, Julie Mannion, Sergio Salerni, Andrea Gottleib Vizcarrondo, Paolo Tomei, Carolyn Mahboubi, Agostino Guardamagna, Enrico Fantini, Donatella Ratti, Renato Molteni, Paola Terenghi, Joan Kaner, Nicoletta Santoro, Joe McKenna, Brana Wolf, Lori Goldstein, Norma Stevens, Phyllis Walters, Alan Rohwer, and Francois Nars.
In Miami, I would like to thank Larry Rivero, Irene Marie, Rick Moeser, Tara Solomon, Merle Weiss, Tom Austin, Bruce Orosz, Lee Schrager, Louis Canales, Frank Scottolini, and the press office of Casa Casuarina. A very warm thanks goes to Denise Burne Fein, who offered her valuable insights into the workings of the Meadows. Paola Bottelli, the doyenne of the fashion business at Italian newspaper II Sole 24 Ore, was enormously generous with her insights into the Milan fashion scene. I would also like to thank Fran Curtis, Elton John’s publicist.
The press offices of the FBI and the Miami Beach Police Department helped me pull together the extensive files on Gianni’s murder, which consisted of nearly a thousand pages. Antonella Barberis and Pietro Marzo at Milan’s Chamber of Commerce pulled three decades of Versace balance sheets for me.
I would also like to extend a special thanks to Anna Wintour and Naomi Campbell, who entrusted me with their recollections of Gianni and his siblings.
I would also like to thank Lucia Mari, Patrick Jephson, Pietro Jovane Scott, Vincenzo Finizzola, Rita Airaghi, Stefano Dominella, Beppe Modenese, Logan Bentley, Rosemary Ferrari, Bob Kreiger, Noris Morano, Concetta Lanciaux, Vicki Woods, Wayne Scot Lukas, Jonathan Sidhu, Stu Woo, Albert Reed, Kevin Crawford, Ellin Levar, Claudia Buccellati, Giuseppe Mondani, Mary Lou Luther, Robert Burke, Ruggero Pegna, Patrick O’Connell, Arne Glimcher, Carla Ling, Dickie Arbiter, Gianfranco Manfredi, Pino Bertone, Michela Bertone, Gisella Borioli, and the Diocese of Milan.
Dozens of other people, fearful of offending the Versace family, chose to speak with me on a non-for-attribution basis. I wish to thank them for the time and trust they invested in me and this book.
A heartfelt appreciation goes to a number of people at the Wall Street Journal, my professional home for the last twelve years. This book simply would not have been possible had it not been for the extraordinary training that the Wall Street Journal provides its journalists. I have had the great good fortune to work with a group of talented editors and fellow reporters who, in the face of enormous challenges, remain committed to a level of excellence that is increasingly rare in today’s media world.
I would especially like to thank Michael Williams, Emily Nelson, and Nik Deogun, for graciously supporting this project, including granting me an extensive leave to complete it. Rose Ellen D’Angelo, the Journal’s books-projects editor, has been supportive of this book from the moment of its inception. Steve Stecklow offered valuable feedback on the book’s early chapters. I would also like to thank Alan Murray, Alix Freedman, Karen Pensiero, and Robert Thomson.
I owe a special word for Teri Agins, a dear friend and the most selfless colleague one could ever hope for. Teri is rightfully a legend in the fashion world for her smart, sassy, and incisive coverage of a business that often eludes serious scrutiny. The End of Fashion, her landmark book on the fashion business, was an inspiration and guide well before I embarked on this adventure. From her sharp editing of my initial proposal to her unstinting support during the grueling process of reporting and writing this book, Teri bucked me up countless times when I felt overwhelmed with what I’d taken on.
I owe a special thanks to the team at Crown—John Mahaney, Tina Constable, and Jo Rodgers—who ferried this long project to completion. I would also like to express my gratitude to Milena Vercellino, a talented young Italian journalist who transcribed a number of interviews, helped me with valuable legwork during the early stages of the reporting and did a thorough fact-checking at the end that saved me from more than one embarrassing error. I am also indebted to David Groff for his elegant edit of my manuscript. He smoothed out many bumpy passages and fixed sections where I got lost in the weeds.
My agent, Jane Dystel, has done more hand-holding in the last three years than she probably ever bargained for. Her deep experience in the industry as well as her unstinting support of this project helped me navigate more than one harrowing moment. Her business partner, Miriam Goderich, was invaluable in guiding this first-time author in crafting the initial proposal.
Finally, I owe special appreciation to my family and friends, who have borne a disproportionate share of the burden of this book. Friends in Boston, Milan, New York, and London have generously indulged my self-absorption with this project for many, many months. My mother, my three brothers, their families and our dear friend Pam McLeod endured my setting up camp—with my laptop and an endless load of notes piled high on the kitchen table—during family vacations and holidays.
Most of all, I wish to thank my husband, Fabrizio Mucci, who supported me through two long years of distractions, frustrations, complaints, and frequent absences. He lived literally surrounded by this project for far too long. He read my first proposal, patiently helped me sift through thirty years of Versace balance sheets and caught more than one error on Italian history and business. I will do my best to repay his patience in the days and years to come.
Milan, October 26, 2009