I began shooting Versace-clad celebrities for Gianni after he noticed the photographs I did of Sting in a wetsuit that was published in an Italian magazine. Versace loved the glitter of Hollywood, and I with more courage than brains actually used to make spaghetti for him during his visits to my Malibu home. He could never get enough simple home cooking.

I asked to take his portrait. He began to pose in his usual Michelangelo tortured artist pose when his partner, Antonio D’Amico leaned over my shoulder to watch. Gianni broke into joyous laughter. That was my shot. Afterward he asked if I would photograph them walking on the beach together “like lovers in an MTV video.”