To mark the 10th death anniversary of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace, a specially written ballet was performed in Milan. The ballet called ‘Thanks Gianni, With Love’ was created by French choreographer Maurice Bejart, for whom Versace had designed many stage costumes. 80 year old Bejart also took pride in attending the concert.
The grand event at the La Scala opera house was attended by about 1500 guests, including high profile designers and few Versace’s favourite models.
The designer died a tragic death in a murder outside his Miami mansion on 15 July, 1997. Following his unexpected demise, his sister Donatella took over the Versace fashion empire. The ace designer contributed many costumes for the ballet.
An elated Donatella was quoted saying,
It is the most beautiful gift I could do for him. He was a genius and a simple exhibition of his designs would have been banal.
Bejart had worked in close coordination with Versace on a dozen ballets from 1984 until the designer’s accidental death. Following his death, Bejart described his friend as a “true artisan” and compared him to the “great creators of the Renaissance - always on a quest for novelty and beauty”.
High profile celebrities who formed the guest list included supermodel Claudia Schiffer, designer Karl Lagerfeld and actress Liz Hurley.
