Gianni Versace ( Versace Handbags ), One of the most innovative fashion designers of the 20th century. He startled the world with his clothes made from metal, plastic, and leather, and delighted ballet and opera lovers with his stunning theatrical costumes. Versace socialized with celebrities, who loved and wore his expensive clothing. Gianni Versace's interpretation of fashion is original, somewhat exhibitionist and brightly coloured. He believed art and fashion go together and has been described by Time magazine as the youngest of Milan's "young tyrants".

Versace's Great Designer--Gianni Versace

Gianni Versace was born on December 2, 1946 in the industrial town of Reggio di Calabria, in southern Italy. His mother, Francesca, is a dressmaker and clothing store owner. Versace started working in his mother's atelier at the age of eighteen. He often travelled to London and Paris on pattern buying missions and was quick to learn the secrets of dressmaking and design.

Versace started designing clothes when he was 22. A local garment maker hired him to design a collection that was sold in Francesca Versace's store. Fashion models from Rome and Milan came to southern Italy to perform in runway shows. Soon Versace's name was heard in Milan, the center of Italian fashion.

1972 marked a turning point in Gianni Versac's life. He was called to work for the Florentine Flowers clothing factory of Lucca. By the following year Versace designed for the Italian fashion labels De Parisi, Genny (for whom he would later be working again), Callaghan, Alma, and then for Complice in 1974. The work for Complice, which he fully conceived himself marked the first occasion where his own name was included in the brand name.

A few years later, in March 1978, encouraged by his success Versace presented his first signature collection for women at the Palazzo della Permanente Art Museum of Milan. His first menswear collection followed in September of the same year. The collection was characterized by a stylish nonchalance and the use of pastel colors.

In the same year,Versace opened his first boutique in Milan's Via della Spiga, still selling other labels to complement his own collections. Soon, with the growing popularity of the Versace style, boutiques started to spread across the globe.

In 1982, Versace won the first of a series of awards, "L'Occhio d'Oro," (Golden Eye) for the best fashion designer of the 1982-83 fall/winter collection for women. In the 1980s, Versace introduced another technological innovation, the bonding of leather to rubber using lasers.

Versace collections ( Versace Handbags ) for men and women are sexy to the point of vulgarity. On first sight his work seems to reflect the typical Italian grandezza. On second sight, he seemed to draw only from those images (like the neo-classicistic ornaments in his prints), pushing them to the limits, in order to question any prevailing common agreement on good taste.

In 1997, Versace was shot to death in front of his mansion in Miami, Florida. His sister, Donatella, who worked with him for years, took over as chief designer for the company. Her first collections have met with considerable success, both from fashion editors and clients. For the moment, plans to offer Versace stock on the New York exchange have been postponed.