ROME — Born to a poor dressmaker in southern Italy, Gianni Versace grew up to be proclaimed "the king of frock 'n' roll." His multimillion-dollar fashion empire featured glitzy shows, astronomical price tags and roaring profits on the worldwide sale of trendy clothes, perfume and accessories.
His fatal shooting in Miami on Tuesday deprived Italy of a rags-to-riches icon and his family-owned company of its creative genius. As it shut its palatial Milan headquarters in mourning, Gianni Versace SpA faced the question: Can it survive without Gianni Versace?
A fortune is at stake. Versace's company has grown every year since his first fashion show 19 years ago--a success story that, along with Giorgio Armani, helped make Italy a world leader in designing stylish clothes for men and women.
And for the rich and famous. Those mourning the 50-year-old designer with the neat gray beard included VIPs who had elevated him to celebrity by donning his flamboyant creations. Princess Diana was "devastated," pop star Boy George "heartbroken."
"Gianni Versace, together with a handful of names, symbolizes the success of Italian fashion all over the world," Armani said, adding that his rival's death "has left me in a state of shock." A fashion show on Rome's Spanish Steps featuring top international models was postponed in a gesture of mourning.
Versace's global empire reached from its design operation in Milan to a production network across Italy and more than 165 boutiques from Tokyo to New York's Fifth Avenue. Its accessory branches include Gianni Versace Profumi--makers of Versace L'Homme and other fragrances--and Versace Make-Up, the company's recent venture into the beauty business. There also are 23 Istante stores carrying his less expensive line.
For all his celebrity-courting and globe-trotting--he had palatial homes in Milan, Como (Italy's lake country), New York and Miami Beach--Versace claimed to thrive on his sensitivity to the mass market. "The roots of Italian success are mainstream people," he recently told Time magazine. "In Italy, you have to relate to real people, while in France the designers seem to relate only to transvestites on the [fashion show] runways. We may have less fantasy, but we're more realistic."
It was a lucrative formula. Sales rose 23.5% last year to $485 million, 80% of it from sales abroad, in addition to $530 million in licensing income. The company reported $40 million profits after taxes.
