Gianni Versace

Versace's Mansion Rebranded As The Villa By Barton G.

Filed under: Dining

The South Beach home of the still-missed Gianni Versace is being be relaunched as an elegant restaurant. In the years since Versace's death the lavish mansion has been used as a private club, boutique hotel and restaurant. Recently the home known as Casa Casuarina was caught in the crossfire of the Scott Rothstein scandal. Rothstein, who is part owner of the property, was accused of swindling investors in a Ponzi scheme which took in hundreds of millions of dollars.

Now there's a new man at the helm. Barton G. Weiss, a flamboyant Florida foodie with several restaurants running under his Barton G. brand. Weiss has signed a 10-year lease to take over the property and as he tells the Sun-Sentinel he wants to bring a new era of elegance back to the mansion as well as adding some excitement. After all, this is a man who used a live giraffe to open his restaurant, Prelude and serves macaroni and cheese in a mousetrap at another restaurant.

Tags: barton g, barton g weiss, casa casuarina, gianni versace, scott rothstein, south beach, versace, versace mansion

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Versace Cuts 350 Jobs

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel

Versace has been a brand in transition for a while now but new CEO Gian Giacomo Ferraris has been shaking things up lately. His latest move is an announcement that the Italian fashion house will lose 350 jobs worldwide by the middle of next year as part of a cost-cutting initiative that also includes a thorough evaluation of Versace's store network. The brand recently decided to close stores in Japan, formerly one of the biggest luxury goods markets.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is expected to post a pre-tax loss of €30 million ($44.4 million) on revenue of €273 million. This is a sharp contrast to 2008 when Versace posted a net profit of €9 million on sales of €336 million. Part of the decline is due to a fall in sales in the company's wholesale business and the financial collapse of IT Holding SpA, which produced clothing for Versace under brand licensing agreements. Versace re-launched the secondary line Versus at Milan Fashion week earlier this month.The brand will move forward with new runway designs and will instead focus its fat trimming in the areas of production, distribution and logistics. That's good news for Donatella Versace, the brand's designer who also holds a 20 percent stake in the company. Her daughter Allegra Versace Beck has a 50 percent stake bequeathed to her by her late uncle Gianni Versace and her other uncle Santo Versace has the remaining 30 percent of the company. Ferraris came aboard this spring after Donatella Versace's repeated battles with Giancarlo Di Risio.

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Tags: design, donatella versace, DonatellaVersace, fashion, gianni versace, GianniVersace, jobs, versace

Contents of Versace's Villa Fetch High Prices

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

It wasn't as huge as the Yves Saint Laurent sales but the auction of the contents of Gianni Versace's Italian villa (as comprehensively covered by my colleague Jared Paul Stern in January) adds weight to the idea that the art and antiques curated by a person of famous taste have special value. Sotheby's brought in 7.4 million pounds ($10.4 million) from the London sale of the paintings, furniture and objets d'art from Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como. The number handily beat presale estimates of around 2.5 million pounds and all except nine lots were sold.

Like the Saint Laurent sale, the Versace sale was a chance to pick up pieces personally selected by a man of great taste. The two men had different styles but shared a taste for exquisite furnishings and artwork. Top lots included a pair of Italian cherry wood bookcases by Karl Roos that were commissioned by Princess Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon Bonaparte, for the Library at Palazzo Borghese in Rome in 1814 and sold for 481,000 and 601,000 pounds compared to estimates of around 80,000 and 90,000 pounds.

Mario Tavella, an Italy-based Sotheby's deputy chairman told Bloomberg's Scott Reyburn that some of the bidders had known Gianni and that other wanted pieces because of the connection to the designer. The most expensive lots went to European collectors with the more inexpensive pieces being snapped by Russian clients.

One piece, "Portrait of Major George Maule" by German artist Johann Zoffany was pulled before the auction when a direct descendant of Maule contacted the Art Loss Register and was concerned that it had been stolen years before Versace bought it.

This sale was the last of four Versace sales held by Sotheby's that includes the contents of Versace's Miami and New York homes. Total proceeds exceeded 38 million pounds.

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Tags: antiquities, art, auction, borghese, gianni versace, GianniVersace, lake como, LakeComo, sothebys, villa fontanelle, VillaFontanelle, yes saint laurent, YesSaintLaurent

Bid on Madonna's $3 Million Diamond Versace Tiara

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Auctions, Charity

On March 23rd, online jewelry retailer Bidz.com will auction off a gold and diamond tiara designed by the late Gianni Versace to benefit the Aid for AIDS charity. The one-of-a-kind tiara, which contains over 1,200 diamonds and is worth an estimated $3 million, has been worn by celebrities including Madonna, Amber Valletta and Donatella Versace. The opening bid for the precious piece is $699,000. The Versace Tiara won the famous De Beers Diamonds International Award in 1995 due to the meticulous detail and craftsmanship Gianni Versace put into creating the piece.

The tiara, the star of Versace's famous Atelier Collection, has previously been held only by private collectors. This is the first time in the history of the piece that it is being made available to the public for purchase. A substantial amount of the funds raised from the online auction will go to Aid for AIDS, a non-profit premier service provider for Los Angeles County whose mission is to provide direct financial assistance and critical support for the necessities of life to those impoverished and disabled by HIV/AIDS. Click here for more info.

Gallery: The Versace Tiara

Tags: Amber Valletta, AmberValletta, Bidz, Bidz.com, De Beers, DeBeers, Diamonds, Gianni Versace, GianniVersace, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Los Angeles, LosAngeles, Madonna, tiara

Beckhams Borrow Clooney's Lake Como Villa

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Sports

George Clooney is quite a pal. According to Hello magazine, the movie star just lent his lavish $6 million villa on Italy's famed Lake Como (above) to soccer superstar David Beckham and his wife Victoria. Beckham, whose taste for the finer things in life has been often noted here, is being fought over by two soccer teams, the LA Galaxy and Italy's AC Milan. The Beckhams will take some relaxing time out at the villa while waiting to see the if LA Galaxy will release him from his contract and allow a transfer to AC Milan, the magazine reports. "George has really taken David under his wing since the transfer trouble started," they note.

The luxurious villa, which has played host to many of Clooney's superstar pals, is just half an hour away from the Beckhams' base in Milan. Clooney, 47, and Beckham, 33, became friends after being introduced by Giorgio Armani, (whose underwear ads the Beckhams star in), at the Met Ball in New York last May. Luxe Lake Como, where scenes from the last two James Bond movies were shot, has long been a favorite retreat for Italy's rich and famous and the international jetset. As we mentioned last month, the contents of late designer Gianni Versace's villa there are being auctioned off by Sotheby's in March.

Tags: Celebrity, David Beckham, DavidBeckham, George Clooney, GeorgeClooney, Gianni Versace, GianniVersace, Giorgio Armani, GiorgioArmani, Italy, James Bond, JamesBond, Lake Como, LakeComo, Milan, Soccer, Victoria Beckham, VictoriaBeckham

Contents of Versace Villa Up for Auction

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Art

On March 18 Sotheby's in London will auction off $3 million-plus worth of paintings, furniture and works of art from late designer Gianni Versace's amazing Villa Fontanelle on Lake Como, Italy, comprising some 550 lots. In 1977 Versace (in front of the house with his Irish Setters, above) purchased the Villa, which was built in 1776, and restored it to its former neoclassical glory. The Villa itself was sold to a Russian billionaire for $52 million last year, and the Versace family has now decided to deaccession the contents. The designer personally supervised every step of the renovation and carefully selected every item used in its furnishing and decoration, down to the spectacular mosaic floors and paneling.

Versace set out to create his own personal Arcadia at Villa Fontanelle, and spared no expense. It was said to be his favorite residence. Highlights from the sale include a pair of spectacular life-size casts of Antonio Canova's Pugilists in plaster, c.1800, which were displayed in Versace's own bedroom, estimated at about $30,000 - $60,000; an exceptional pair of Italian gilt and patinated bronze-mounted bookcases, originally commissioned by Princess Pauline Boghese for the Library at Palazzo Borghese in Rome, est. about $110,000 - $140,000; and a pair of stunning Sévres Coral-red-ground vases "Etrusques", circa 1795, est. about $11,000 - $17,000.

Among the paintings from Versace's collection on offer is the tempera on canvas Hercules at the Crossroads Between Vice and Virtue attributed to Pelagio Palagi in 1820, est. about $35,000 - $55,000, as well as a very good collection of paintings on glass, miniatures and a vast array of works of art depicting Roman emperors. "It is a great pleasure to orchestrate this one-off sale of such a maverick of style whose taste and influence is epitomized in his Villa Fontanelle collection," says Mario Tavella, Sotheby's European Deputy Chairman responsible for Single-Owner Collections. "This is the last opportunity to enter into Gianni's world and buy something from a collection that is representative of his legacy."

[via JustLuxe]

Gallery: Versace Villa Sale

Tags: Gianni Versace, GianniVersace, Italian fashion, ItalianFashion, Italy, Lake Como, LakeComo, Neoclassical, Palazzo Borghese, PalazzoBorghese, Sevres, Sothebys, Versace, Villa Fontanelle, VillaFontanelle

Casa Casurina Opens For Home Tours

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Gianni Versace's Miami, Florida home Casa Casuarina has been a private club for years. Now the 1930 Italianate mansion on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach is open for a limited run of public tours. Versace bought the home in 1992 for $2.9 million and since his death it has been a private club and part of the Leading Hotels of the World group offering ten suites. The Casa also includes a mosaic pool, Observatory roof deck and member's lounges including the Moroccan room, the Caviar Creator Club Lounge, the Polo Bar and the Davidoff cigar bar. Tours of Casa Casuarina cost $50 and are offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., through Sept. 30. In homage to Versace, the tours, which need to be booked in advance, will be given by a woman dressed in a Versace gown.

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Tags: casa casuarina, CasaCasuarina, gianni versace, GianniVersace, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate, miami, versace