Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-up, home furnishings and clothes. He also designed costumes for theatre and films. As a friend of Eric Clapton, Princess Diana, Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Madonna, Elton John, Tupac Shakur, Joan Collins and many other celebrities, he was one of the first designers to link fashion to the music world. He and his partner Antonio D'Amico were regulars on the international party scene. The place where he was born and raised, Reggio di Calabria, greatly influenced his career.

Gianni Versace S.r.l., usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian luxury fashion company founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The company produces Italian-made ready-to-wear and accessories, as well as haute couture under its Atelier Versace brand and licenses its name and branding to Luxottica for eyewear. Gianni Versace being a native of Calabria, in the ancient Magna Grecia, the company logo is inspired by Medusa, a figure from Greek mythology.