Documentary filmmaker Mobeen Azhar estimated that Prince left behind at least 100 albums worth of unreleased tracks when he died in April. Some of that unreleased music made its debut at the Versace Men’s Spring/Summer 2017 show during Milan Fashion Week.
Fashion designer Donatella Versace used the songs sent to her personally by Prince for her shows on Tuesday and this past weekend. He sent her some tracks as recently as five months ago, according to Billboard.
Versace considered the rock star one of her “closest friends” and was heartbroken over the news of Prince’s passing. She told Billboard:
My heart was broken by the news of Prince’s passing — I am still in shock. I wanted to express my love and admiration for my friend who I miss so much. Celebrating him and his music at my menswear show seemed like the best way.
It’s unclear if Versace had to receive permission from Prince’s estate to use the music in her show, according to TMZ. She told Billboard that Prince had been sending her music for years and “it was his way of communicating” with her.
Prince left a vault of unreleased music in his Paisley Park home in Minnesota, which also served as his studio. His friend and sound engineer David Z told the New York Daily News in April that Prince would record two songs a day and then put them on the shelf.
Bremer Trust, the court-appointed special administrator of Prince’s estate, named music producer Charles Koppelman and L. Londell McMillan, Prince’s longtime lawyer and manager, to manage the musician’s entertainment assets, according to the New York Post. Possible ideas floated by Koppelman so far include a Broadway musical featuring Prince’s hit songs or a Cirque du Soleil show.