Monday 3 September 2018

House of Versace by Deborah Ball

"The medusa was an apt symbol of the Versace brand's sensibility, at once classical, alluring, theatrical, garish, and dangerous."

Late last night I reached the final pages of this interesting look back at the meteoric rise and untimely demise of Gianni Versace and his fashion label. Ball tells a compelling tale and provides intriguing insides into the business and emotional heart of the eponymous label.

The nineties were supermodels, George Michael's Freedom and Liz Hurley in a daring safety pinned Versace dress.To this day I can recall the footage of the funeral of Versace with Elton and Lady Diana. Ball provides an interesting insider perspective of these iconic moments in recent history. I was inspired to read this by the recent release of the mini -series , The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story , prompting my interest in securing a copy before I got around to watching it. I still haven't managed to watch and yet I'm looking forward to it after this.

In case you're wondering why I didn't give this particular book the full compliment of marks, I guess I just wanted more. I realise that's terribly unspecific and possibly unhelpful. What the book does fantastically is describe the family dramas and machinations, behind the scenes, in growing the Versace brand from its origins in southern Italy to its nineties worldwide peak. What is absent is much detail about the murder. The series is apparently based on Maureen Orth's Vulgar Favors, and now I think I want to read that.


4 out of 5 well draped clothing maketh the woman.

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