Gianni Versace 1946-1997

1946 Born December 2nd in Reggio Calabria, Italy

1971 Starts working as a fashion designer in Milan, after an apprenticeship in his mother's dressmaking business.

1975 Shows his first leather collection for the fashion house Complice.

1978 Presents his first women's ready to wear collection, at the Palazzo della Permanente, Milan.

1982 Designs first theatre costumes, in collaboration with the Teatro alla Scala, for a production of Richard Strauss' ballet Josephlegende. Receives his first prestigious 'Occhio d'Oro' (Golden eye) award for his famous autumn/winter 1982/1983 collection of metal mesh dresses.

1985 Versace speaks at a conference at the Arte e Moda exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

1986 The Italian President Francesco Cossiga makes Versace a 'Commandatore' of the Italian Republic. The National Field Museum, Chicago presents a major retrospective of Versace's work. Gianni Versace: Dialogues de mode exhibition in Paris illustrates the collaboration between Versace and internationally renowned photographers such as Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Bruce Weber.

1987 Designs theatre costumes for productions of Salome by Richard Strauss, and Maurice Bejart's Leda et la cygne and Souvenir de Leningrad. Receives the 'Maschera D'Argento' (Silver Mask) for his contribution to the theatre.

1988 Elected the world's most creative and innovative designer for men by the 'Cutty Sark' jury.

1989 Opens the 'Atelier Versace', a studio for the creation of Versace haute couture designs. Introduces the new line 'Versus' in Milan, aimed at a younger audience. Creates theatre costumes for Bejart's production of Elegie pour elle at the Cirque Royale, Brussels.

1990 Designs costumes for the San Francisco Opera production of Richard Strauss' Capriccio.

1991 Exhibition 'Versace Teatro' at the Royal College of Art, London. Receives the 'Occhio d'Oro' award for the fourth time, as the most creative designer of the year.

1992 The 'Versace: Signatures' retrospective opens at the Fashion Institute of Technology (F.I.T.), New York. Stage costumes designed for the world tour of performer Elton John.

1993 Awarded the coveted American Fashion Oscar award by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Launches 'Home Signature', a new line of accessories for the home.

1994 The 'Versace: Signatures' retrospective opens at the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin.

1995 Designs costumes for the world premiere production by the American Ballet Theatre of How Near Heaven, choreographed by Twyla Tharp and performed at the Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.

1997 Versace is shot and killed outside his South Beach home in Miami, Florida on July 15th.