WHEN GIANNI was alive, we travelled together all the time. He took me
everywhere. He loved culture and was constantly taking me to exhibitions. I
still remember our first visit to Paris — I felt like a princess in a fairy
tale. He and I loved to decorate the house. When we travelled, we used to
take some of our favourite things from our house, and borrow a few pieces
from local boutiques, then use them to redecorate the hotel rooms we were
staying in. They looked so much nicer that way.
But we soon realised that carrying all this stuff around was crazy. One day,
Gianni said, “Why don’t we do our own hotel?” So we did. Now I have one in
Australia and one opening soon in Dubai. It will have salt-water swimming
pools with Red Sea fish and an underbeach cooling system to stop the sand
burning your toes.
My travel schedule follows the fashion shows to all the main cities. I like to
stay in old, luxurious, grand places. Modern boutique hotels don’t do it for
me. They’re too fashionable. It’s all about the lobby and not about the
rooms.
In London, I like the Dorchester; in New York, it’s the Waldorf Towers; and in
LA, I like to stay in the bungalows at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Last time I
stayed at the Dorchester, they prepped the room with a floral room spray I
love. I felt like moving in.
When Gianni and I travelled together, we used to look at so many things and
buy pieces that inspired us. He taught me so much. He introduced me to the
joys of table linen and porcelain. On our first trip to Venice, I spent
£60,000 on tablecloths. Later, I turned him on to a brand of watches. And
the next time I ran into him, he said, “You bitch! You ruined my life!” He’d
bought 17 watches in one go.
I fly so much that I sometimes use a private jet. My favourite is the
Bombardier Challenger 604, which has our black-and-white leather sofas,
chairs and beds, knives and forks. When I go commercial, I like British
Airways First. The service is excellent and the food is surprisingly good.
I love to eat. In Milan, when I am doing the fashion shows, I go to Da
Giacomo, on Via Sottocorno. It has the best fish. Or there’s Bice, just
around the corner from my Milan office on Via Borgospesso, right in the
centre of the city. I always have the spaghetti with clams. In Rome, which
is my favourite city in the world, I like Maccheroni, on Piazza delle
Coppelle.
In London, I go to Locanda Locatelli. When we launched our new boutique on
Sloane Street last year, I had dinner there with lots of my friends to
celebrate — Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Rupert Everett. We had potato pasta
with caviar, which is out of this world. I love anything with caviar.
I like shopping for music more than for clothes. In Los Angeles, I always go
to Amoeba Music, on Sunset Boulevard. I love taking my kids. Everyone hits
his or her own aisle. It takes the whole afternoon. In New York, I like to
buy accessories. My favourite shop is Fabulous Fanny’s Eyewear, on Ninth
Street. They have the best selection of eyewear — vintage, antique and the
most unusual modern frames.
When I go on my summer holidays, it’s always to the beach. My extended family
— Allegra, Daniel, a couple of photographer friends and I — head for the
shore. I body-surf and dive, Allegra loves to run and to swim, and Daniel
likes surfing.
I often rent a house in Maui, Hawaii, where I can really be myself and go to
the shops and restaurants without being bothered. My favourite beach is in
the Caribbean, though. Parrot Cay, in the Turks and Caicos, is the best
hotel in the world. I go there to be alone.
My favourite holiday was, of course, with Gianni. It does not sound very
Versace, but it was a camping holiday in Vietnam. It was so beautiful, there
were no tourists and the food was fantastic. I’d never been camping before.
We slept in tents — luxury tents, of course.
