In our very first mini-episode, we explore the dark and deadly side of fashion. From arsenic-laced fabrics to flaming crinolines, poisoned makeup, and deadly working conditions, this episode uncovers the moments where couture didn’t just kill the runway, it killed people. Join Lo and Presley as they dive into fashion’s fatal history, with sass, insight, and some truly horrifying stories.

What We Covered:

• • Scheele’s Green and arsenic in Victorian fashion
  • Mercury poisoning in hatmakers (Mad as a Hatter)

• • Crinolines that burned, drowned, or crushed women

  • Lead-based beauty standards used by Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots

• • The Radium Girls and radioactive makeup
  • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
• • Rana Plaza factory collapse (2013)
• • Why fashion history isn’t always so glamorous

  
  

• Sources:

  • The Arsenic Century by James C. Whorton

  • BBC History: The Colour That Killed

  • Radium Girls by Kate Moore

  • The Lancet medical journal (1861 fire death estimates)

  • New York Times archives on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

  • The Fashion Archives at the Victoria and Albert Museum

  • Smithsonian Magazine: Crinoline Fire Fatalities

  • NPR: Rana Plaza’s Legacy
    

  Like what you heard?

  Follow us on Instagram: @thekingstalkpod

  Have a case, crime, or couture disaster you want us to cover? Email us at thekingstalkpod@gmail.com

  
  

  Next Week's Full Episode: We’re back Tuesday with a full-length deep dive as we revisit one of the most disturbing cold cases in Texas history, The Yogurt Shop Murders.

  
  

  Hosted by: Lo & Presley

  Production + Research: The Kings Talk Podcast

  Theme Music:

  Inspirational Chamber Symphony - Classical Royal Royalty Free | Sonican

  Opera Rising | DMassalll

  Cover Art: The Kings Talk Podcast

  
  

On July 15, 1997, the world was stunned when fashion icon Gianni Versace was gunned down on the steps of his South Beach mansion. But this wasn’t where the story started. In our debut episode, we rewind the timeline and uncover the chilling path that led to that moment, through five lives, four states, and one of the most tragic investigative failures in modern history.

From the overlooked victims — Jeff Trail, David Madson, Lee Miglin, and William Reese — to the glamor, grief, and media chaos that followed Versace’s murder, we’re telling the story behind the headlines. This is not just about fashion. It’s about obsession, erasure, and what happens when no one is paying attention… until it’s too late.

Follow us on Instagram: @thekingstalkpod

Email us your case suggestions: thekingstalkpod@gmail.com

New full-length episodes drop on Tuesdays.

Mini episodes on Fridays.

🎧 Don’t miss our first mini episode, When Couture Kills, coming this Friday.🧾 SOURCES – "Before Versace" (Episode 1)

📘 BOOKS:

• Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History
  by Maureen Orth

• • This is the definitive source on Cunanan and the murders. It’s detailed and controversial.

  🎥 DOCUMENTARIES / SERIES:

• Murder by Design, 48 hours (2017)

• 📰 ARTICLES & REPORTING:Vanity Fair – The original Maureen Orth reporting archive

• • Orth’s early profiles on Cunanan and the aftermath of Versace’s death were serialized here.

• The New York Times – Obituary for Gianni Versace (July 1997)

• • Offers a factual obituary and public reaction to his murder.

• CNN & AP Archive Footage

• • Useful for mapping the timeline and police press conferences.

  🗺️ TIMELINE CONFIRMATION:

• Use public archives for verification:

  • Murderpedia – Andrew Cunanan

  • FBI Press Releases (1997) about the manhunt

  • Miami Police Department statements from July 1997

  Hosted by: Lo & Presley

• Production + Research: The Kings Talk Podcast

  Theme Music: Inspirational Chamber Symphony – Classical Royal Royalty Free | Sonican

  Opera Rising | DMassalll Cover Art: The Kings Talk Podcast