Gianni Versace

A prince of fashion is dead, shot down on the steps of the palace he raised up from the kitsch of Miami Beach. An overdressed court mourns Italian designer Gianni Versace, who clothed royals and rockers, socialites and tarts and innumerable young fashion groupies who saved their pennies to cloak themselves in bits of instant sexiness that is the essence of Versace design.If few have owned or touched a genuine Versace, they certainly have seen the added wattage his clothes give a star clientele.

In the worlds of fashion and entertainment, the name "Versace" has been front and center in recent years. We've seen the glorious gowns on stars from Britney Spears to Catherine Zeta-Jones. And who could forget the taped-down scarf dress at the 2000 Grammy Awards that some still think launched the superstardom of Jennifer Lopez? A&E Network attempts to demystify the Versaces this week on an installment of Famous Families in Biography. The episode, which airs tomorrow at 8 p.m., tells the story behind the label, from the birth of Gianni Versace in a poor Southern Italian city to his becoming an international household name.

Anyone following the story of Gianni Versace's murder knows that one of his last acts was to buy magazines. The day after the slaying, the Boston Globe reported that the designer bought Business Week, Entertainment Weekly, the New Yorker, People and Vogue. He wanted Time, too, but it wasn't available.This week, he's selling them.Most of those magazines pushed the story onto their covers. (Vogue didn't, but only because it is a monthly and wasn't due to publish.)Many weeks in a slack summer, magazines scrape for cover fodder: A week ago, Jewel, Ivana's divorce, cigar smoking and retirement strategies fronted for them.

Accessories the latest twist for star stylistOnce you've mastered hair, accessories must be a breeze.Renowned hairstylist Frederic Fekkai (left), whose celebrity clients include Winona Ryder, Martha Stewart and John F. Kennedy Jr., has expanded into handbags, sunglasses and hair accessories.Fekkai - who has salons in New York and Beverly Hills - will be at Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to celebrate the opening of his accessories counter there.The hair ties have a sculptural feeling.

Flipper Purify, the adulterous architect in Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever," may be the best-dressed man on film this summer.He wears $600 Gianni Versace sweaters and $150 Isaac Mizrahi ties. He has a tiny earring in his left ear. And he makes the men on "thirty-something" look like fashion wimps.Those guys Michael, Elliot and Gary inspired a new line of clothing, also called "thirtysomething," which is supposed to be in stores for fall. But if men want to steal some really creative wardrobe ideas, they should check out Flipper, played by Wesley Snipes.

In the worlds of fashion and entertainment, the name "Versace" has been front and center in recent years. We've seen the glorious gowns on stars from Britney Spears to Catherine Zeta-Jones. And who could forget the taped-down scarf dress at the 2000 Grammy Awards that some still think launched the superstardom of Jennifer Lopez? A&E Network attempts to demystify the Versaces this week on an installment of Famous Families in Biography. The episode, which airs tomorrow at 8 p.m., tells the story behind the label, from the birth of Gianni Versace in a poor Southern Italian city to his becoming an international household name.

During his reign as the grand duke of fashion, Gianni Versace glorified and glamorized pop culture better than anyone since Andy Warhol. Since his murder two weeks ago, the glamour is sweeping back into the streets that inspired him.This week, hip-hop producer-turned-artist Sean "Puffy" Combs appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, the waistband of his white Versace underwear clearly visible under an open faux-fur coat.And although there is no place in Baltimore to buy the designer's signature couture line, Baltimore's hip youth are grabbing up whatever bits of Versace glamour they can find.

Nouveau furniture, tooSince Nouveau Contemporary Goods opened seven years ago, owners Lee Whitehead and Steve Appel have always planned to sell furniture. But it wasn't until the jewelry store below their shop moved out that they were able to open a showroom for their art deco, '50s and avant-garde contemporary finds. It was a simple matter of knocking through a wall, unlocking a door and uncovering a staircase to the lower level.The two were pretty sure the customers were there: When thetest-marketed '30s-style couches by Klote, they found the pieces sold very well.

It was Leroy Harvey Reaves' feet that gave police their first indication the 19-year-old may have belonged to a gang of transvestite criminals.Mr. Reaves, wearing a white Italian designer blouse and leather skirt, and two other men had just been arrested Jan. 29 for allegedly stealing $80,000 in merchandise from the ritzy Gianni Versace store in Bethesda when detectives arrived."

Chicago--When a fashion director who travels around the world to ferret out fashion trends goes out on a limb and says, "The single most important piece to add to a fall wardrobe is . . . " you sit up and listen for the end of the sentence. Especially if you don't have to wait until fall to find the gem she's talking about.Pleated skirts are the items that Joan Kaner believes are the absolute essentials for pepping up a wardrobe. "I'm bullish about pleated skirts," says Ms. Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus stores around the country, "because they change the whole silhouette with their movement, their mobility."

During his reign as the grand duke of fashion, Gianni Versace glorified and glamorized pop culture better than anyone since Andy Warhol. Since his murder two weeks ago, the glamour is sweeping back into the streets that inspired him.This week, hip-hop producer-turned-artist Sean "Puffy" Combs appears on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, the waistband of his white Versace underwear clearly visible under an open faux-fur coat.And although there is no place in Baltimore to buy the designer's signature couture line, Baltimore's hip youth are grabbing up whatever bits of Versace glamour they can find.

Anyone following the story of Gianni Versace's murder knows that one of his last acts was to buy magazines. The day after the slaying, the Boston Globe reported that the designer bought Business Week, Entertainment Weekly, the New Yorker, People and Vogue. He wanted Time, too, but it wasn't available.This week, he's selling them.Most of those magazines pushed the story onto their covers. (Vogue didn't, but only because it is a monthly and wasn't due to publish.)Many weeks in a slack summer, magazines scrape for cover fodder: A week ago, Jewel, Ivana's divorce, cigar smoking and retirement strategies fronted for them.

A prince of fashion is dead, shot down on the steps of the palace he raised up from the kitsch of Miami Beach. An overdressed court mourns Italian designer Gianni Versace, who clothed royals and rockers, socialites and tarts and innumerable young fashion groupies who saved their pennies to cloak themselves in bits of instant sexiness that is the essence of Versace design.If few have owned or touched a genuine Versace, they certainly have seen the added wattage his clothes give a star clientele.

The Italian designer Gianni Versace -- a bearded, vivacious Calabrian who lives and works by the credo MORE IS MORE -- was sitting in his baroque atelier on the Via Gesu in Milan almost two years ago, talking about how he bought a palatial home on Ocean Drive in that mecca of Florida hip, South Beach.I will never forget that conversation."I was on the way to Cuba," he said, "and I stopped just for 10 hours in Miami. I said to the driver, don't bring me to anything boring, just bring me to where the action is, where the young people go. He dropped me at News Cafe.

Nouveau furniture, tooSince Nouveau Contemporary Goods opened seven years ago, owners Lee Whitehead and Steve Appel have always planned to sell furniture. But it wasn't until the jewelry store below their shop moved out that they were able to open a showroom for their art deco, '50s and avant-garde contemporary finds. It was a simple matter of knocking through a wall, unlocking a door and uncovering a staircase to the lower level.The two were pretty sure the customers were there: When thetest-marketed '30s-style couches by Klote, they found the pieces sold very well.

On Page 25 of November's Harper's Bazaar magazine appears a collage of New York super models and Hollywood celebrities wearing "bondage dresses" with black leather straps at Italian designer Gianni Versace's Rock 'N Rule fashion show.A few pages beyond in the fashion publication is a two-page spread featuring a more conservatively attired Lily Bengfort, businesswoman and mother of three.The 31-year-old Long Reach village resident was one of three "regular" women selected from 1,500 finalists to represent Leslie Fay Women clothiers in a national advertising campaign.

Accessories the latest twist for star stylistOnce you've mastered hair, accessories must be a breeze.Renowned hairstylist Frederic Fekkai (left), whose celebrity clients include Winona Ryder, Martha Stewart and John F. Kennedy Jr., has expanded into handbags, sunglasses and hair accessories.Fekkai - who has salons in New York and Beverly Hills - will be at Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. to celebrate the opening of his accessories counter there.The hair ties have a sculptural feeling.

On Page 25 of November's Harper's Bazaar magazine appears a collage of New York super models and Hollywood celebrities wearing "bondage dresses" with black leather straps at Italian designer Gianni Versace's Rock 'N Rule fashion show.A few pages beyond in the fashion publication is a two-page spread featuring a more conservatively attired Lily Bengfort, businesswoman and mother of three.The 31-year-old Long Reach village resident was one of three "regular" women selected from 1,500 finalists to represent Leslie Fay Women clothiers in a national advertising campaign.

It was Leroy Harvey Reaves' feet that gave police their first indication the 19-year-old may have belonged to a gang of transvestite criminals.Mr. Reaves, wearing a white Italian designer blouse and leather skirt, and two other men had just been arrested Jan. 29 for allegedly stealing $80,000 in merchandise from the ritzy Gianni Versace store in Bethesda when detectives arrived."

Chicago--When a fashion director who travels around the world to ferret out fashion trends goes out on a limb and says, "The single most important piece to add to a fall wardrobe is . . . " you sit up and listen for the end of the sentence. Especially if you don't have to wait until fall to find the gem she's talking about.Pleated skirts are the items that Joan Kaner believes are the absolute essentials for pepping up a wardrobe. "I'm bullish about pleated skirts," says Ms. Kaner, senior vice president and fashion director for Neiman Marcus stores around the country, "because they change the whole silhouette with their movement, their mobility."