OK! Magazine Australia - 04.06.2018

DURING THE ’90s, GIANNI VERSACE WAS THE

CELEBS’ GO-TO FOR RED CARPET COUTURE

By the time he was 50, Italian

fashion designer Gianni

V ce had it all. A multi-

million-dollar clothing

and accessories empire

that bore his name

and countless stars,

including ‘Gianni’s girls’

Naomi Campbell and

Kate Moss (let), along

with Jennifer Lopez and

Elizabeth Hurley among

his clientele. Liz (right)

became an overnight

superstar when she wore

that safety pin dress to the

1994 London premiere of

Four Weddings and a Funeral.

Yet all that was tragically lost

when Gianni and four other

victims were killed by Andrew

Cunanan. It’s believed Andrew

briefly met the designer

several years earlier. Ater his

death, Gianni’s younger sister

Donatella took over as creative

director of the company, which

continues to flourish to this day.

THE REAL STORY

LOOK-

ALIKE CAST

The key players –

including Edgar (right) as

Gianni – bear an uncanny

resemblance to their

real-life counterparts.

‘It’s spooky,’ says

Darren.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE MUST-SEE SHOW

MURDER IN MIAMI

A number of IRL locations

feature, including Gianni’s

Casa Casuarina mansion on

Miami’s South Beach, where

he was shot (right) on July 15,

1997. The property is now
      a hotel, although it was rented
      out to the production. ‘Being
      at that house was almost
      like being in church because
      Versace was so present,’ says
      Darren. ‘It was surreal.’ Other
      locations include Miami’s
      News Cafe and the Normandy
      Plaza hotel, where Andrew
      lived before the killing.
      He committed suicide on
      a houseboat a week ater
      the designer’s death.

The show was filmed

in the actual locations

in which the events

took place

The real Gianni

and Antonio were

in a relationship

for 15 years

‘No-one really knows
why he murdered
[Gianni],’ Darren
says of Andrew

‘Versace was a

family man who

threw legendary

parties,’says

Edgar Ramirez

Princess Diana

comforted Elton

John at Gianni’s

funeral just weeks

before she died

‘He celebrates

the female form,’

said Versace fan

Elizabeth Hurley

Gianni was taken

to a Miami hospital

but died soon ater

Versac

K

w

E

h

b

Gianni was shot at

point-blank range

TEXT BY MELISSA FIELD