Legacy of Donatella Versace: Steps Down as Chief Creative Officer
Tiya Antony
Fashion News Editor
Donatella Versace, Italian designer, has shockingly decided to step down as chief creative officer of Versace. Gianni Versace was the brand’s founder and brother of Donatella. After his tragic death in 1997, Donatella took over this position and has held the position for almost 30 years.
Donatella is going to hold the role of chief brand ambassador, in which she will focus on philanthropy and charity as well as advocating for the brand in the global context. The new chief creative officer is Dario Vitale, the previous image director of Miu Miu. This marks the first time in Versace’s history that the brand will be run by a designer not from the Versace family. Donatella expresses excitement about adding Vitale to the Versace team stating that “championing the next generation of designers has always been important to me.”
This change is occurring as Miu Miu’s owner Prada Group is close to buying Versace from Capri Holdings in an estimated $1.6 billion deal. Capri Holdings bought Versace in 2018, but the brand has struggled with revenues and sales in the past year. This deal and change of designer could be the brand’s hope to bring back more sales and revenue.
Donatella’s legacy and story remains an inspiration for all when she took over the brand in 1997 without having any training or experience in design or business. Donatella’s creative vision, personal style, and bold ideas have created the successful brand of Versace that we all know of today.
Versace is known for sophisticated and elegant designs which often showcase clashes of themes like classical and contemporary, myth and glamour, and classical and contemporary. Versace has had many notable pop cultural references and iconic outfits. In the early 2000, Versace’s jungle dress grew in popularity causing whole trends of silk, chiffon, and draping work to embrace a feminine look. Versace also does form fitting and dramatic looks on her collections to mix sleek, dramatic, and femineity into the designs. Another notable outfit was Britney Spears’ buttery dress from 2003 featuring delicate embellishments and a pastel palette.
Versace is always a trending name at the Met Gala and one of her most notable looks was Gigi Hadid’s single shouldered gown with the look of stained-glass windows and beaded crystals. Zendaya also wore a custom Versace gown inspired by Joan of Arc in 2018. She was also the creative mind behind Blake Lively’s 2022 Met Gala look with a column dress with a tri-tone copper foil to capture the State of Liberty transformation.
Versace states that she will always be Versace’s biggest supporter, and her legacy will never be forgotten, as her iconic looks are still talked about. This new change of creative director will allow the brand to be seen from a new perspective and might branch the brand forward into further international success.
Contact Tiya at antonyti@shu.edu