Fame and Fashion. Jianni Versace

Jianni Versace believed in pushing to the limit. His leathers were sleazy, his dresses fit the body like a wet glove. His clothes eroticized, even prettified men, they imparted a tough edge to women. As a designer he could be titillating, outrageous, bombastic, vulgar, classic, avant-garde and, of course, wildly expensive. He became known as much for the way he presented his fashions – on the runway, in advertising and in lavish “image books”- as for the clothes themselves. His approach was always provocative, irreverent, even shocking.

Versace has made much being a “rock’n’ roll designer”. Certainly he had long made custom stage clothes for his musician friends, from Elton John’s Captain Fantastic look to the Artist Formerly Known as Prince’s satin jackets and snakeskin pants for the Gold Experience Tour.

But Versace’s vision went away beyond that Versace simply loved rock’n’ roll and the freedom that it stood for. His shows were staged like rock’n’ roll shows, with great pounding sountracks. Born in 1946 in the town of Ressio Calabra, in Italy, Versace was the son of a dressmaker. Like many other important designers, he learned to make clothes at an early age. He studied architecture but soon became involved in his career. He served as a buyer for his mother’s boutique business, worked for a series of ready-to-wear companies. His first solo men’s collection was in 1979. He also designed for women.

Exercise 5 Use your dictionary to find the meaning of the highlighted words. Share your findings with your class

Exercise 6. Answer the following questions

1. Whatwas his approach?

2. When and where was he born?

3. What do you know about his family?

4. Did he design women?

5. When did he first present his solo men’s collection?

Exercise 7. T 1.01 [3,p. 4]. Listen to a fashion show commentary, which of the outfits in exercise1 (Speaking) is described? How many other outfits are also described?

Exercise 8. Complete the phrase from the commentary.

1 an attractive____________, brown___________jacket

2 a____________,__________T-shirt

3 casual,_________,black jeans

4 a____________, grey,__________ jacket

5 a large____________scarf

6 a____________, dark, __________coat

Exercise 9 T 1.07 [3, p. 17] Listen to part of a radio programme. Decide whether the information in each sentence (1-8) is true, false or not stated in the programme.

Everybody’s “wardrobe personality” is one of four types: Dramatic, Classic, Romantic or Natural	True	False	Not stated
Dramatic personalities like to be looked at
Dramatics do not wear designer clothes
Classic personalities enjoy quiet hobbies like gardening
Classics spend the most on clothes of any type
Make-up is not very important for Romantic personalities
Natural personalities are comfortable in either casual or formal clothes
“Extreme Naturals” risk dressing too casually for some situations

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