Two sides of the same coin, like two-faced Janus, to stay in the theme of classicism, so beloved by the house of Medusa.. They were it Santo and Gianni Versace, the rational soul and creative mind of a successful fashion house that has conquered the market since its debut with the first women’s collection in 1978, rivaling the already great Giorgio Armani. “We were separated by two years, but it seemed that there were two generations between us. He is an eternal child, pure creative talent, I am a sagehe says in an interview Corriere della Sera Saint, author Brothers and sisters. Italian family, published by Rizzoli, in which he talks about his relationship with the designer, whose disappearance was the point of no return for him. An incurable long-term injury that he managed to heal only with this publication.
25 years after his death “the damned July 15, 1997, when my brother Gianni was killed outside his home in South Beach” Santo Versace pours into an autobiographical letter all the memories of a life lived together and dramatically broken.. Man and brand, brother and fashion empire: there is room in this memoir for both souls, which the author defines as “an act of love for him”, a cathartic therapy that he only managed to undergo thanks to the closeness of his second wife, Francesca De Stefano, a 55-year-old lawyer , with whom he marries on religious grounds – civil marriages took place in 2014 – in Rome, on July 8 next year. “With my wife,” Santo’s ad reveals. Deal We have been together for 18 years. From the very beginning, she understood the wounds that bled in my soul. He took my hand and accompanied me on the journey of rebirth. She is Love with a capital letter. Thanks to her, I was reborn.”
A feeling of the same caliber, though of a different nature, that which had always connected him with his brother Gianni, for whose help he left Reggio Calabria in 1976 to join him in Milan, where together they made his dream come true. “We invested a ridiculous sum today, twenty million lire, ten thousand euros today,” then their sister Donatella joined them in the 80s, who was about ten years younger and is currently a creative consultant for Versace. But the relationship between the two brothers remained strong and indissoluble: “He trusted me so much that he repeatedly let me solve some personal problems,” says Santo in the book, “He asked me to eliminate boyfriends who became annoying or that he could no longer stand “. Gianni was a kind soul to be protected, much loved by many of the star system figures who flew to Milan that summer to pay their last respects to the stylist: from Elton John to Naomi Campbell, from Sting to Carla Bruni to the lady Diana she will die in the same year, just 45 days later.
The photo chosen by the designer’s brother for the cover of the book shows them side by side on a boating vacation in 1983, the golden years of fashion and drinking in Milan, when anything seemed possible. “Gianni dreamed and I made his dreams come true. Together we were invincible. I remember in 1976 at a press conference I prophesied: “If we’re lucky, we’ll do better than Saint Laurent.” And Gianni replied: “If Santo says so, then so be it.”
Source: Elle