Gianni and Donatella

In July 1997 Gianni Versace had begun his Fall Collection when his life was tragically cut short. It was up to his sister Donatella to bravely pick up the pieces and finish what her beloved brother had started. That October was Gianni's last collection and Donatella's first. It was an end and new beginning … a metamorphosis and change for the Versaces, a metaphor for life itself.

At the special invitation of the Versace family, Sante D'Orazio painted a photographic masterpiece of that milestone, both front- and backstage. For a decade the Versace family has kept these cherished images private. However, they are being published now to mark the 10th anniversary of that landmark collection—a fitting tribute to Gianni Versace and his talented and devoted sister Donatella.