Italian fashion designer, whose work brims with references to classical antiquity, viewed Medusa as his muse and alter ego.33 In a 1996 interview, Versace explained his choice of Medusa as his logo: “Sense of history, classicism. Medusa means seduction . . . a dangerous attraction.” 34 In his provocative, sexually aggressive “Bondage” collection of Autumn/Winter 1992–93, which featured fetishistic black leather skins and straps, he incorporated gold metal buttons decorated with the Medusa’s face in every design (fig. 38). Medusa is represented in the likeness of Kate Moss, the British fashion model, in Frank Moore’s 1997 oil painting To Die For, commissioned by Gianni Versace but completed after the designer’s murder in the summer of 1997 (fig. 37). Medusa’s severed head lies on a bloodstained
marble floor next to a shattered bottle of Gucci’s perfume Envy, a spool, and a Polaroid photo that shows the moment of the decapitation. Caught in her twisted, snaky tresses are a dollar bill and a dead white mouse, resembling those used in lab experiments. The painting’s mirror frame implicates the viewer in a play of reflected identity and vanity. A poignant allegory of the complex relationship of fashion and art, the painting came to symbolize the perils of the high-fashion industry and the violence against two Italian fashion icons whose lives ended tragically (Maurizio Gucci was killed in 1995 by a hit man hired by his ex-wife). Phrases such as “dressed to kill,” “drop-dead gorgeous,” or “killer smile” echo this notion of glamorous beauty as a destructive force in contemporary popular culture.
37. Frank Moore (American, 1953–2002). To Die For, 1997. Oil on canvas on featherboard with mirror frame, 27 ¾ x 61 ⅝ in. (70.5 x 156.5 cm). The Gesso Foundation / The Estate of Frank Moore, Courtesy Sperone Westwater, New York
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38. Gianni Versace (Italian, 1946–1997). Dress, autumn/winter 1992–93. Wool/silk blend, leather, and metal, L. (at center back) 37 in. (94 cm). Gift of Barbara Rochelle Kaplan, 2004 (2004.65.1)