gianni versace was born in reggio calabria, italy, on december 2, 1946. after an apprenticeship at his mother's dressmaking business, he began working as a freelance designer. at age 25, versace was creating pret-a-porter collections for top fashion houses of the time, including genny, complice and callaghan.

in 1978, with the help of his brother, santo, he founded the gianni versace company. later that year, the first gianni versace collection for women was shown in milan large leather purses .

there are several lines which make up versace group. they are: gianni versace, versus, versace jeans couture, versace ceramic designs, versace collection (which replaced versace classic in 2005), versace sport. it also operates a hotel, the palazzo versace.

gianni versace is the mainline, which contains the high end apparel, jewellery, watches, fragrances, cosmetics and home furnishings. this is the only line which is presented on the runway which is shown during milan fashion week for both men and women. as its a mainline a dress might cost about $10,000 and a suit $5,000. versace bags online donatella rent designer handbags versace directly heads this line and designs a vast amount of the very high end items in the line. home furnishings are licenced through rosenthal for ceramics and through other companies for home fittings such as sofas and beds. most have the unique versace greek print of medusa or similar greek emblems.