Wrapped in Gianni Versace Memories
Within hours after word spread that fashion designer Gianni Versace had been slain in front of his Miami Beach villa Tuesday, shoppers were cruising through used clothing boutiques in Orange County snapping up anything with his label.
One man who visited Recycled Rags in Corona del Mar the day of the slaying bought up the entire supply of Versace shirts for $200.
“We only have a couple of women’s suits and some Versace T-shirts left,” said Audrey Patterson, owner of Recycled Rags, who is planning to set aside a Versace item for herself.
“I’d like to have at least one thing in his memory.”
Versace’s death has sent many of his fans, and some opportunists, scrambling for a swatch of designer history. The designer last worked on the spring/summer ’98 collection, which hits the stores this fall, and once it sells, there will be no more of his new designs. That has some customers hurrying to buy the last of the limited supply.
Thursday morning, the posh Versace boutique in Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza opened its doors after being closed for two days “to dedicate our thoughts to Mr. Versace”--and to keep the media at bay, said a spokesman who requested anonymity.
A single red rose had been left by a mourner at the boutique’s front entrance.
Among the first shoppers through the door were Susana Garcia of Long Beach and her daughters Jackie, 11, and Jessenia, 8. A frequent Versace customer, Garcia had called up the store in tears on the day of the slaying.
“She wanted to come today because of what happened to him,” Jackie said while her mother tried on sunglasses.
Gil Morua of Lakewood came to shop for T-shirts, ties and other pieces to add to his Versace collection.
“Now I’m torn between wearing a piece and preserving it as any collector would,” he said. “I don’t even know if I should wear the ties I have.”
While some buyers might be motivated by commercialism, Versace followers say this is simply their last chance to own, and to treasure, a master’s work.
“The day I heard about the [slaying] I was wearing a pair of Versace pants. I don’t want people thinking I’d just jumped on the bandwagon,” said Gina Van Dyke of Newport Beach, who fell in love with Versace’s designs while living in Italy in 1984.
“People who know me know I wear Versace all the time. I had six friends call me to tell me he had died because they know how much I love him. He’s my idol,” she said. “I’m eager to buy from the collections in which he had a final say, because in two years that won’t be the case.”
Some devoted Versace shoppers worried that others would buy up remaining merchandise just to capitalize on the designer’s notoriety.
“Buying Versace is like collecting art. His clothes have meaning,” said Roger Canamar, owner of Notorious Model Management in Santa Ana and long-time Versace wearer. “Anything anyone now has by Versace is priceless. I won’t part with mine.”
Before heading out to the Versace boutique, Canamar, who represents models who have worked on Versace advertising campaigns, planned to call a friend at the Versace headquarters in Milan to discuss which new piece he should add to his collection.
“I want something to keep,” he said. “Whoever killed Gianni Versace robbed us of a great artist. Our models who worked for him are devastated.”
Among Canamar’s favorite Versace designs are his signature silk shirts with their riot of color.
“They might have cost $1,100, but Versace used 21 different colors to make them, and the silk was always the finest,” Canamar said. “And the clothes were made so well. Who knows if [the] Versace [label] will be the same?”
Howard Huynh, a sales associate at Versace in South Coast Plaza, had been wearing Versace designs long before he began selling them. He expects the fall/winter collection, which he says is just arriving in stores, to be a big seller.
“Gianni Versace is one of my idols,” Huynh said. “He was supposed to come out and meet us at the end of this month. We were fixing up the store, and everyone was excited.”
After the remaining collections sell out, buyers will have to turn to the resale market for Versace-designed pieces. If early sales are any indication, the supply at local consignment stores will be scarce.
“Customers have been coming in and asking for Versace,” said Kelly Combest, sales representative at Labels, a resale shop in Newport Beach. “They’ll think about buying something even if it doesn’t fit them. But right now we only have a pair of Versace shoes. One of the workers here is trying them on right now even though they’re size 8 1/2 and she’s a size 7. She’s trying to see if she can get away with it.”
Some Versace loyalists are staying on the sidelines of the buying frenzy.
Tom Tucker, a Laguna Beach resident who has worn Versace for 10 years, will simply hang onto his collection of vests, shirts and accessories, he said.
“We just got back from a trip to Milan, where I bought some Versace clothes, and we took a boat trip in Lake Cuomo, where we saw his bright yellow mansion,” Tucker said. “Versace’s designs were always interesting, new and innovative. But I’m not going to run off and buy up a bunch of stuff.”
