Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace (, born Giovanni Maria Versace; 2 December 194615 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Versace, an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, make-up and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films. As a friend of Eric Clapton, Diana, Princess of Wales, Naomi Campbell, Madonna, Elton John, Cher, Sting and many other celebrities, he was the first designer to link fashion to the music world. Openly gay, Versace and his partner Antonio D'Amico were regulars on the international party scene. Versace was murdered outside his Miami Beach home, the former Casa Casuarina now known as "The Villa," at the age of 50 by Andrew Cunanan, a male prostitute.