obituary project

Hand in: Monday 20th November

Write an obituary of between 750 - 1000 words for any of the following broadsheet publications:
The Times
The Independent
The Guardian
The Telegraph

....

Extra bonus marks will be awarded if the subject dies in a bizaare of gory way...

We all picked names out of a hat, I think I got the best..
Donatella Versace

Here's a tiny version, so you can see the layout.



















And here's the text itself;

Italian fashion designer, Vice-President of the Versace Group and Creative Director of the Versace fashion label

She was the blonde bombshell with a passion for all things bright and brash, the glamorous heir to the Versace throne, as famous for her celebrity entourage as her designs. And now, in a surreal accident, Donatella Versace has died aged 51. Although perhaps best remembered for her flamboyant personal appearance and salacious tabloid lifestyle, she was also an integral player on the international fashion circuit.

Born in 1955, the youngest of three children, Ms. Versace had a happy childhood in the small Italian town of Reggio de Calabria. Situated on the western tip of Italy’s ‘boot’, the town is famous for its Mafia connections, its regular earthquakes and little else. The family, described by fashion journalist Vicki Woods as, ‘a great big, noisy, spaghetti-cooking, ice-cream-eating Italian family,’ is incredibly close, and although the siblings often argued, they were fiercely protective of each other. The two boys, Santo and Gianni were besotted with their sister, but it was Gianni who was to introduce Donatella to the world of fashion.

Their mother Francesca owned a small dress salon, and Gianni enjoyed working in the studio and running errands. His interest in fashion even extended to Donatella’s appearance. At the age of ten, he announced that his sister should have her hair highlighted. Enthralled by her elder brother’s sophistication, she promptly went to the hairdressers and demanded streaks. Her hair was to remain defiantly blonde for the rest of her life.

In 1978, Versace launched his first collection. Gianni was designer whilst Santo looked after business. The pair had moved to Milan to study, and Donatella soon followed them. She intended to work for Gianni as his PR, but became more important to him as the inspiration for his designs. Often cited as his muse, she was much more involved than being just a physical or aesthetic inspiration. Gianni once told Vanity Fair, “If my sister wants to do something, okay. If she doesn't like a sketch, I will cancel it.” Indeed it was Donatella who first suggested using well-known models for their catwalk shows to generate more press, and in the era of the Supermodel, it was Versace who attracted them all. Their shows embodied glamour, money and beauty.

The label became synonymous with bold, exuberant designs, often walking a fine line between glamour and downright flashiness. Donatella began to have more and more of an input on the collections, and from the late 1980s her contribution became increasingly evident. Colour and sparkle were key, perhaps unsurprising from the woman who once said, “Less is less as far as I’m concerned.”

In 1989 Gianni gave Donatella her own diffusion line, Versus. Shown in New York, it was a modern, urban label. It was a successful amalgamation of Gianni’s love of classicism and Donatella’s streetwise chic. “The woman I have in mind when designing,” she once said, “is one whose individuality and inner confidence shines on the outside. She is sexy, smart and dynamic. Imagine Madonna and Demi Moore as flatmates.”

On Tuesday 15th July 1998, Gianni Versace was shot dead on the steps of the family home in Miami. Andrew Cunanan, a twenty-seven year old college drop-out was the prime suspect, but eight days after the incident, he was found dead, after committing suicide. A family funeral for Versace was followed by a public mass, attended by many of Gianni’s celebrity friends and clients, including Princess Diana and Elton John, as well as many fashion designers.

Following the death of her brother, Donatella took the reins of the Versace design house. She became Vice-President of the Versace Group and Creative Director of the main fashion line.

Three months after Gianni’s death, she miraculously pulled together a ready-to-wear collection which Vogue later described as, “more than credible”. A year and three days after Gianni's death, in July 1998, she mounted her first couture show for Versace. She continued to oversee production of the various Versace collections each year, from the diffusion lines of Jeans and Sports to perfumes and make-up, sunglasses and homewares. More recently, the Palazzo Versace opened in Australia. The world’s first Versace hotel (of a planned seven), it is described as an ‘evolution of the Versace lifestyle. The Versace group altogether employs more than 1500 workers, and recorded a £210 million turnover in 2005.

Donatella soon became as famous for her celebrity lifestyle as for her designs. Her cartoonish looks, once described by Gianni as, “the perfect woman”, became a subject of derision in tabloids, and the over the top nature of Versace designs were often the subject of mockery in the press. However, never one to take herself seriously, Donatella had a cameo in the hit fashion satire film, Zoolander, and when, during a stay in Beverly Hills, an earthquake struck LA; she admitted to TV journalists that her first thoughts were for her face creams.

In 2006 Donatella was introduced to Christopher Kane, then an MA student at St Martins College, London. Seeing something of Gianni in his work, Donatella sponsored his MA collection and he has worked as a consultant for Versace on a freelance basis ever since. Speaking yesterday Mr. Kane said, “Working for Versace had always been a dream. I am so thankful for Donatella's support, she was an amazing person.”

Ms. Versace was found inside a tanning bed in her Miami home on Friday afternoon. An early statement reveals that the designer suffered 95% burns to the face and that she 'choked' on her own skin. Investigators are looking into the faulty machine, although it is rumoured that Donatella had been drinking before using the equipment. A full coroner’s report is expected to be published this week.

She is survived by her daughter, Allegra, and son David.

Rachael Gibson

Donatella Versace, fashion designer, born May 2, 1955; died November 19 2006