Fashion Victim: The Killing of Gianni Versace

To paraphrase Homer Simpson (who was arguing with his brain), I don't like fashion and it doesn't like me; but I do like glitzy tales of outrageous lifestyles and scandalous behavior, and Fashion Victim offers precisely that. An exploration of two party people whose lives intersected violently on the morning of July 15, 1997, when Andrew Cunanan shot fashion magnate Gianni Versace, this profile brings Versace's opulent world to life--from the lurid hues of his party central Miami home to his self-styled emperor dealings in the fashion world. Antonio D'Amico, Versace's longtime lover, and friend Lazaro Quintana are among the interviewees who describe the designer's life, ambitions and triumphs in an industry where air kisses abound like bubbles on a Lawrence Welk set. Cunanan's story, in contrast, is a tangled web of misalliances and fabricated background stories, told with the aid of crime reports from his bloody Ted Bundy-like cross-country trek, and commentary from his weird father Pete, who raves about plots too convoluted for even the most ardent of conspiracy theorists. While Fashion Victim does a fine job of detailing the particulars related to Versace's murder in a non-sensational manner, it is most notable for the masterful way it fills out the life of the jet-setting victim and juxtaposes it with that of his wastrel murderer. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (M. Tribby)