Gianni Versace grew up working for his mother, who owned a local sewing business. Over the next decade, Versace became very popular worldwide thanks to the innovative move of taking his runway shows out of Milan to Paris and New York. After his untimely and highly publicized death in 1997, his sister, Donatella Versace, took over the creative direction for the brand. Versace was known for dressing celebrities, a media savvy move to keep all eyes on the label’s designs.
In 2013, Versace announced that Anthony Vaccarello would be the latest designer to produce a capsule collection for the label. The success of this saw Vaccarello hired as Versus Versace’s permanent creative director and the line more than double its year-on-year revenues in 2014 — he departed in 2016. Widely regarded as her brother’s muse, Donatella Versace took Gianni’s place as creative director in 1997 and has continued to cement its reputation for unparalleled luxury.
Since childhood, brother and sister had shared a special bond, and all the adventures they had together in the small town of Reggio Calabria were at the heart of the brand’s creativity. Even Donatella Versace still says that what makes Versace unique is who she is. Versace was shot and killed on 15 July 1997, at the age of 50, on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion as he returned from a morning walk on Ocean Drive. In the aftermath of the highly publicised manhunt, most of the Versace family, including Donatella, moved temporarily to a secluded private resort in the Caribbean. Three days after Gianni’s death, Donatella Versace mounted her first haute couture show for the label at the Hôtel Ritz Paris. The larger-than-life mogul is credited with having retained a coveted status for the Atelier Versace and ready-to-wear lines.
She has also received the CNMI Award in recognition of sustainability at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in 2018. With verve and signature flamboyance, she picked up the pieces after her brother’s death to push the brand forward. The similarity between Gianni and Donatella Versace is out of this world and goes beyond blood ties. Even after Gianni Versace’s passing, the fashion house followed a natural evolution as if the creative man had never left. The history of Versace has been an eventful one, from the beginnings linked to Gianni and Donatella’s little hometown in southern Italy to the rise of Gianni’s fame in Milan, the tragic event in Miami, and the moment the brand found its place again under Donatella’s vision. The Versace Home collection is created as part of a collaboration between Versace and Luxury Living Group.
She was considered his muse as he used to dress her and created her iconic platinum blonde look. After his death, she succeeded him, starting a new chapter in Versace’s history. You can count on one hand the number of fashion houses that enjoy the name recognition that Versace does. Today, under the leadership of Donatella Versace—just as in the ’80s and ’90s when the brand was run by her brother Gianni—it is a universal symbol of all that is glamorous and decadent. Versace doesn’t make clothes that are avant-garde, arty, or untouchably elegant; it makes clothes for red carpet photo calls in Cannes and parties aboard a rap mogul’s mega-yacht in Monaco.
More than a simple transposition of the fashion brand’s stylistic codes, this project integrates fashion, luxury and living to offer a global experience of the Versace world. The collection speaks of know-how, creativity and pure design, echoing the revered identity of Versace. References to classical art, mythology and opulent decoration are mixed with typical Italian flair and Very Versace non-conformism. As one of the first Italian designers to create all-leather collections, his name became established in the industry when he debuted in 1975 with his first creations for Complice. On 28 March 1978, at the Palazzo della Permanente in Milan, Gianni Versace presented the first women’s collection under his name. All the ingredients that helped make Gianni Versace’s vision come true were in his sister, as Donatella was one of his muses.
As the fashion and film industry remembers well, a tragic event led to his death and stopped his career. The assassination of Gianni Versace was suffered by many, most of all by his sister Donatella. While suffering this profound loss, Donatella Versace took over the creative direction of Versace and made the brand’s success continue to grow.
Antonio Banderas has reportedly signed on to star as Gianni in a Bille August–directed movie about the Italian fashion dynasty. In September 1997, the estate announced that Versace’s brother, Santo, would serve as the new CEO of Gianni Versace S.p.A. while Versace’s sister, Donatella, would become the new head of design. Versace began his apprenticeship at a young age at his mother’s sewing business, which employed up to a dozen seamstresses.[9] He became interested in architecture before moving to Milan at the age of 26 to work in fashion design. In 1972, Gianni Versace designed his first collections for Callaghan, Genny, and Complice. In 2008 Versace was appointed as an honorary chair of London’s Fashion Fringe initiative founded by acclaimed journalist Colin McDowell.
Her father, Antonio, was a salesman and her mother, Francesca, was a dressmaker. Her older brother Gianni opened the first Versace boutique in Milan’s Via della Spiga in 1978, and it quickly became a sensation. Versace soon became one of the hottest fashion brands of the moment, and Gianni employed his sister Donatella as Vice President, overseeing creative oversight, where she acted as a key consultant to Versace. Today, Donatella Versace keeps creating one iconic piece at a time for the brand while continuing to team up with celebrities. Artists such as Dua Lipa and Maluma are currently very close to the brand and star in some of its most popular global campaigns.
In 2020, the singer Elodie showcased the Versace brand at the 2020 Sanremo Music Festival, wearing it on the red carpet and for all four of her performances. She also wore Versace on the red carpet of the Venice Film Festival.[69][70][71] She continued to wear Versace and was invited to the Versace FW2020 event. Exceeding all expectations, she brought the same spirit and innovation the Maison was known for into her creations; after all, Donatella Versace has always been the brand’s heart and soul. The Versace world is revealed, room by room, in a succession of atmospheres that speak of its extraordinary ability to draw on different artistic expressions and transform them into a liveable reality.
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