Santo Versace, Gianni Versace and Lady D. There is a thread that unites Diana and the two most famous brothers in Italian fashion. She revealed it Santo Versace in a long interview given to Corriere della Sera, in which it is told from all aspects, human and professional. A story that obviously includes Gianni’s death. And this is precisely where Lady D comes in. Because it was she who consoled him on the day of his funeral.
Santo Versace and that special bond with Gianni
Santo and Gianni were united by blood and a shared vision of fashion. «The most significant experience was undoubtedly creating a company from scratch on a global level and then defending it after Gianni’s death.», he said. It was his idea to found a fashion house: «I told Gianni that we would do better than Yves Saint Laurent. Carlo Tivioli, his partner at the time, replied that I was crazy.”
The murder of Gianni Versace
On July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was killed with two shots of a gun in front of his home in Miami. Rescued by his companion Antonio D’Amico, he was taken to hospital but there was nothing left for him to do. «I couldn’t believe he was dead.” says Santo.
«The recognition fell to me at the hospital, they didn’t want to let us in. Then, when I touched Gianni’s head, I retracted my hand full of blood: there I realized that it was no longer there. I pushed the coffin into the crematorium: they gave me such a small bag of ashes.” Today, thinking of his brother, he can only hope for one thing: «With all the prayers we have said and have said, with the candles we light, I hope he is in heaven now».
Who was at Gianni Versace’s funeral?
After a first funeral commemoration in Miami, Gianni Versace was remembered with another commemoration in the Milan Cathedral. A ceremony in which many famous people participated: from Lady Diana to Elton John, from Naomi Campbell to Sting. The two singers, Elton John and Sting, remembered the designer by singing The Lord is my Shepherd together, moving the entire assembly.
«Lady Diana consoled me upon Gianni’s death»
Then there is a particular memory that Santo Versace retains of that day, the closeness of Lady Diana: «She who held my hand for half an hour in Via del Gesù to console me, on the day of the funeral ceremony in the Duomo» says the entrepreneur and politician. An unpublished image of the princess, private and personal, which the brother of Gianni and Donatella Versace has never forgotten, not even after many years.
Elton John at Gianni Versace’s funeral
Santo Versace then said that he also kept a memory linked to Elton John in his mind: «The memory of the funeral while he cried, before singing with Sting, is indelible. Afterwards he gave an extraordinary concert in Riga, where I also went, and the following day an 8-column newspaper headline with his words: “Holy I love you”».
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