House of Versace

The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival

By: Deborah Ball

Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin

Versace. The very name conjures up images of outrageous glamour and bold sexuality, opulence, and daring. All of course true, but only half the story. Versace is also the legacy of a great creative genius from a poor, backward part of southern Italy who transformed the fashion world through his intuitive understanding of both women and how a changing culture influenced the way they wanted to dress.

The first book in English about the legendary designer, House of Versace shows how Gianni Versace, with his flamboyant sister Donatella at his side, combined his virtuosic talent and extraordinary ambition to almost single-handedly create the celebrity culture we take for granted today.

Gianni Versace was at the height of his creative powers when he was murdered in Miami Beach. The story was headline news around the world and the manhunt for his killer a media obsession. His beloved sister Donatella demanded no less than a funeral befitting an assassinated head-of-state to be held in Milan's magnificent cathedral. In what was the ultimate fashion show, the world's rich and beautiful - Princess Dianna, Elton John, Carla Bruni, Naomi Campbell, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Anna Wintour, and others - gathered to mourn a man already considered one of fashion's great pioneers.

©2010 Deborah Ball (P)2018 Tantor

blood is thicker than water

Donatella was a victim of the industry... her drug abuse was a symptom of being overwhelmed and uneqquiped for success. She is a survivor and ballsy!

Great Overall

Absolutely enjoyed listening to this book! I recommend to anyone who loves memoirs. I would not consider myself a fashion guru, but this book motivated me to get more knowledgeable about these great fashion houses

Quite the epic story

The audio book is excellent for listening while doing mundane work. The fashion world is pretty foreign to me for the most part, but I remember the murder, etc. The bigger story was more interesting than expected.
The narrator mispronounced way more words than one would expect, but hey, even that became entertaining.

Great story, ok performance

I learned a lot and enjoyed this book. I didn’t know much about the designer or fashion industry. It’s a little slow in some of the history but the large majority of the story is intriguing.

I’m iffy about the performer reading it. Great pronunciation of various languages but some of her cadence is weird and a little irritating. But I still very much enjoyed the book.

The Narrator

The narrator seem bored.... Very monotone. I also feel like the narrator should’ve been had a British or Italian.

Comprehensive

This book contains everything you’ll want to know about the House of Versace. This book follows Gianni from cradle to grave and the family after his death. You’ll both find out about the family members and the business dealings both. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I liked house of Gucci as well. This book however gets me more excited because it talks a bit more about actual fashion.

Very Entertaining

I really enjoyed this audio-book. Interesting from beginning to end. Will likely listen to it again.

Interesting & good narration

Interesting and good narration, if only outdated in 2024. No fault of the author, but it would be great to know what’s been going on since 2010! The narrator brings a solid Italian accent when needed and produced an interesting and enjoyable listen.

Amazing!

This book was recommended to me by audible and, having no clue what I wanted to hear next - I decided to give it a shot. Wow! The narrator, as others have said, isn’t the best ... but the story is gripping and has given me a new respect for the man behind Versace. I’ve recommended it to tons of friends and colleagues.

Wow

I love true crime, and I initially downloaded this thinking it would be in that genre, and focusing on the investigation, trial, etc. for the tragic murder of a high-profile person.

This is not that - but i ended up riveted by this story. It’s a phenomenal, well-paced, compelling story about the founding of a brand that I knew only from magazine advertisements and had never given much thought to. I loved it!